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Private First Class Walter Joseph Taylor, Jr.

A young African American man smiling in his U.S. Army dress uniform.
  • Unit: 101st Airborne Division, 158th Assault Helicopter Battalion, Company A
  • Service Number: 426920156
  • Date of Birth: October 30, 1947
  • Date of Death: December 6, 1970
  • Hometown: Moss Point, Mississippi
  • Place of Death: South China Sea near Da Nang Harbor, South Vietnam
  • Award(s): National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal
  • Cemetery: Courts of the Missing, Court B. Honolulu Memorial, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Contributed by Ms. Adrian King
Velma Jackson High School (Camden, Mississippi)
2024/2025

Early Life

Walter Joseph Taylor, Jr., was born October 30, 1947. He grew up in Moss Point, Mississippi, during the peak of racial violence. In 1966, he graduated from Magnolia High School, four years before it merged with the all-White Moss Point Central High School.

At a critical point in his life, stability was essential amidst overwhelming unrest and uncertainty. The military presented appealing and daunting opportunities during the tense economic and social dynamics at home. 

Homefront

Contributing to the War Effort

Moss Point, located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is a few miles away from Pascagoula, where Ingalls Shipbuilding constructed military ships. The USS Washoe County (LST-1165), a landing ship tank, received numerous commendations and battle stars for its service in Vietnam. Many local men also joined the ranks of the estimated 227,000 Mississippians who volunteered or were drafted to serve in the  Vietnam War. In 1966, the federal government launched Project 100,000 to encourage military recruitment in poor areas. Mississippi was one of the poorest states, but the exact number of its recruits among the more than 150,000 that served is unknown.

Growing Hostilities in Mississippi

Project 100,000 led to disparities among soldiers serving in Vietnam. The program fueled anti-war protests and the growing tensions of the Civil Rights Movement, to which the state diverted much of its attention during the 1960s.

In 1967, a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee volunteer in Moss Point observed that many of the membership in their group had declined. Many activists endured police beatings and unlawful arrests. The heightened intensity of the violence and the struggle for civil rights created a war-like environment that, for many, was more urgent than war overseas. 

Disaster Strikes the Coast

Mississippi faced another crisis in 1969 when Hurricane Camille devastated the Gulf Coast, leaving many homeless. Uprooted communities were left to rebuild as more soldiers left for Vietnam. With the state reckoning with disaster and race relations, many civilians bore battle scars of their own.

Aerial photograph of the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, 1960s. Mississippi Digital Archives (PI/SF/IND/1986.0017).
Rubble remains of building still burning in the wake of Hurricane Camille, August 18, 1969. Singing River Genealogy and Local History Library Hurricane Camille Collection, Mississippi Digital Library (2017_16_002).

Military Experience

After basic training, Walter Taylor joined Company A of the 158th Assault Helicopter Battalion,101st  Airborne Division. After a year of service, he was promoted to private first class.

He bravely served as a door gunner of a Utility Helicopter-1 Iroquois Helicopter, an iconic symbol of the war. His job involved using an M-60 machine gun to provide protection during missions. Often under heavy enemy fire, this role was crucial for defending troops as they landed or took off. 

His chopper was one of 12,000 U.S. military helicopters that flew two million missions above Vietnam. They assisted in the rescue of over 90,000 wounded and saved countless lives.

HU-1 (Huey) helicopter with the gunner putting the barrel on an M-60 machine gun at Camp Evans in Vietnam, December 4, 1968. Missouri Historical Society (P0884-00006).
Handwritten note on the back of the photograph on the left  reads, “Huey ‘Slick’ the type of chopper I used too [sic] pick up mail in when on the beach/ it has two M-60 machine guns. note the Gunner is putting the barrel on one,” December 4, 1968. Missouri Historical Society (P0884-00006).
 Photograph of a door gunner leaning out of a UH-1A Iroquois helicopter. He wears a headset and wears a long-sleeved, collared shirt. The pastures, roads, and trees can be seen on the ground far below, 1970s. Bell Helicopter Records, University of North Texas Libraries Special Collections (UNTA_AR0836-266-241583). 

Commemoration

On December 6, 1970, Taylor’s aircraft crashed in the South China Sea near Da Nang Harbor. His name is listed on the Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

In April 2018, he was honored at Arlington National Cemetery with a monument recognizing the service of over 4,800 helicopter pilots and crew members who sacrificed their lives in Southeast Asia from 1961 to 1975.

Soldiers who witnessed his last moments remembered him smiling and waving with his crew. This spirit of camaraderie forged during an era defined by deep division is a testament to a life characterized by perseverance. 

Private First Class Walter Taylor Joseph, Jr. was awarded the National Defense Service Medal for his service.

Vietnam Helicopter Pilot and Crewmember Monument and Memorial Tree at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Arlington National Cemetery.
Walter Taylor Joseph, Jr.’s name is listed on the Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. American Battle Monuments Commission.

Bibliography

George, Roy R. HU-1 (Huey) helicopter with Gunner putting the barrel on an M-60 machine gun at Camp Evans in Vietnam. Photograph. December 4, 1968.  Missouri Historical Society (P0884-00006). https://mohistory.org/collections/item/P0884-00006. 

“Gulf Coast Storm Deaths Reach 170; Could Hit 500 to 1000.” The Bridgeport Telegram [Bridgeport, Connecticut], August 20, 1969. Newspapers.com (32205926).

“Moss Point, MS.” The Movement [San Francisco, California], May 1967. Civil Rights Movement Archive. https://www.crmvet.org/docs/mvmt/6705mvmt.pdf.

Original LAMP Site With Existing Ingalls Shipyard In Foreground. Photograph. 1960s. Mississippi Department of Archives and History (105281). https://da.mdah.ms.gov/series/ingalls/detail/525036. 

[Photograph of a door gunner in a UH-1A Iroquois helicopter]. Photograph. 1970s. Bell Helicopter Records, University of North Texas Libraries Special Collections (UNTA_AR0836-266-241583). https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1132067/. 

Randall, William (Bill) T. Burning Rubble. Photograph. August 18, 1969. Singing River Genealogy and Local History Library Hurricane Camille Collection, Mississippi Digital Library (2017_16_002). http://collections.msdiglib.org/digital/collection/jsg/id/473/rec/52.

Swanson, Robin. “Chopper Crash, The Whole Story Updated.” Purging My Vietnam Blog. Accessed March 26, 2025. https://purgingmyvietnam.blogspot.com/p/in-zmemory.html.

Vietnam Helicopter Pilot and Crewmember Monument. Photograph. Arlington National Cemetery. Accessed April 10, 2025. https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Monuments-and-Memorials/Vietnam-Helicopter-Pilot-and-Crewmember-Monument.

Secondary Sources

Bates, Tobey G. “The Vietnam War and Mississippi.” Mississippi History Now, November 2019. https://mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/issue/the-vietnam-war-and-mississippi.

Doug Kahler, Door Gunner.” Martin County Veterans Memorial. Accessed February 28, 2025. https://mcvm.org/doug-kahler/.

“Magnolia Monarchs continue celebration of past, future.” Sun Herald [Biloxi, MS], June 13, 2003. Newspapers.com (745224157).

“PFC Walter Joseph Taylor, Jr.” Defense Personnel POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000001UKrEAM. 

“PFC Walter Joseph Taylor, Jr.” Find a Grave. Updated March 13, 2016. Accessed December 16, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159387878/walter_joseph-taylor.

Thompson, Mark. “U.S. Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Fighting U.S. Army to Honor Buddies’ Sacrifices.” Time, September 15, 2016. https://time.com/4495714/vietnam-war-helicopter-memorial/.

“U.S. Army Ranks.” U.S. Army. Accessed February 22, 2025. https://www.army.mil/ranks/.

“Vietnam Veteran Commemoration Ceremony.” Mississippi National Guard. Accessed March 26, 2025. https://www.ng.ms.gov/news/2023-01/vietnam-veteran-commemoration-ceremony-honoring-vietnam-veterans-and-families-our.

 “Walter Joseph Taylor, Jr.” American Battle Monuments Commission. Accessed November 26, 2024. https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/taylor%3Dwalter.

“Walter Joseph Taylor Jr.” Honor States. Accessed March 26, 2025. https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/301338/.

“Walter Joseph Taylor, Jr.” The Virtual Wall. Accessed February 22, 2025. https://www.virtualwall.org/dt/TaylorWJ01a.htm.

This profile was researched and created through the Researching Silent Heroes program, sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission.