WILLIAM B. TAYLOR, 1LT, USAF
William Taylor '50
Lucky Bag
From the 1950 Lucky Bag:
Loss
From the Arizona Daily Star on August 12, 1953:
Tucson Pilot Dies
First Lt. William E B. Taylor, 25, of Tucson, a veteran of 100 Korean combat missions, was killed Monday when his F86 jet fighter plane crashed near Indian Springs, Nev.
A gunnery instructor at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, he was leading a group of trainees when his plane went into a dive and failed to pull out.
Lieutenant Taylor was the son of Mrs. Florence S. Taylor, of 585 South Wilson avenue, and a 1950 graduate of the U.S. Naval academy, Annapolis, Md. The holder of the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with two clusters, he was assigned to Nellis Air Force Base after spending 11 months in Korea.
Born in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Lieutenant Taylor attended the University of Alabama for a year and a half before entering the naval academy, After graduating he accepted a commission in the air force and went to Randolph field, Tex., to take primary flight training. In 1951 he received his wings at Craig air force base, in Alabama, and then was transferred to Luke air force base, Phoenix for pre-combat flying.
He was a third degree Mason and a member of Pi Kappa Phi social fraternity. In addition to his mother, he is survived by a sister, Mrs. O. J. Timian, of Tucson.
Mrs. Taylor and her daughter are leaving today for Tuscaloosa, where funeral services and burial will take place.
He is buried in Alabama.
Memorial Hall Error
William is not listed with his classmates. This mistake was discovered by researcher Kathy Franz.
Class of 1950
William is one of 37 members of the Class of 1950 on Virtual Memorial Hall.