Willis E. Taylor was born in Saybrook, Illinois on September 5, 1921. His parents were Le Roy Manfee Taylor and Anna Marie Taylor (maiden name: Blum); Le Roy was from Indiana, and Anna Marie was from Illinois. Willis was one of five children, including his older sister, Phyllis Taylor (born in 1919), Virginia M Taylor (born in 1923), Mervin Elmore Taylor (born in 1925), and Melvin Leroy Taylor (born in 1928). The family lived in Illinois for the first few years of his life and moved – when Willis was about twelve - to a farm on the vicinity of Berne, Indiana, where they stayed for about two years. After that, they moved to Salem, Indiana residing there for about five years. Willis was baptized as an infant, became a member of the Berne Evangelical Church at 12, and then transferred his membership to the Salem Methodist Church at 16, where he remained a member until his passing. Willis Taylor attended Monroe High School, and found work shortly after graduating, in 1938, at 16. Soon after graduating, he found employment in a factory in Fort Wayne, and one of his tasks was with the group that erected the Pavilion at Hannah Nuttman Park. He moved to Decatur after marrying Vivian Marie Dellinger of Monroe on October 13, 1940. The couple had two children, Lamar Eugene Taylor, born on January 28, 1943, and Carolyn Taylor. While married, before going into the army, Willis worked at Inca Plant, in Fort Wayne. Mr. Taylor enlisted in the Army on 3 November, 1942 in Toledo, Ohio. He trained at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, where he stayed for six months. After basic training, Willis was sent overseas from New York City on 30 April, 1943. Willis would serve with the 4th Ranger Battalion (a quick special operations strike force) known as "Darby's Rangers" after their commander then Lt. Col. William Darby. The 4th Ranger Battalion was one of the first Army Ranger units ever established and was modeled after the British Commandos. The 4th Rangers saw action in North Africa and was part of campaigns in Sicily, Salerno – where he landed with the first invasion of Italy, and at Anzio. Additional information about Darby's Rangers can be found in the book, The Spearheaders: A Vivid Personal History of Darby's Rangers, Americas First Commando Unit by James Altieri. Shortly after the invasion of Italy, Sergeant Taylor fell ill with yellow jaundice, in November 1943, and would spend time at a field hospital in Italy. During this stay, he wrote a long letter to his family, which was posted on The Berne Witness after his death. In the letter, he says to his father it’s been a while since he last wrote home, and that soon he would be able to go back to duty, glad to be well again. He continues by mentioning he had completed a year of service that month and was proud of that fact. He mentions seeing four boys he trained with at Camp Wheeler at the hospital, the first time he saw someone he knew after going overseas; he also learns that there were only a few men who trained with them left, most “fell by the wayside” and many were injured in some way; Willis says he shuddered at the thought that had he not been at the N.C.O. school for four weeks, he would have been one of them. At the time he wrote the letter, Taylor’s rank was Sgt. Technician, further into the letter, he says had he not been at the hospital, he could have been a Buck Sgt. By then, which would put him in line to be promoted to Staff Sgt., which was his rank at the time of his death. Taylor’s positive attitude towards life is apparent in this letter, especially when he mentions that he had learned a lot and his experiences “couldn’t be bought for ten times what [he’d] made”. He finishes his letter by wishing his mother a happy birthday. Sergeant Taylor was killed in action on 30 January, 1944, during the Battle of Cisterna, which is described in The Berne Witness, on 10 March, 1944 by two surviving soldiers In the article, the battle is said to have been “a fight to the end against overwhelming odds”. What started as a mission to infiltrate behind German lines to attack the Nazis ended in the loss of the lives of over 100 soldiers, and the capture of around 950. One of the 100 that were killed was Sergeant Taylor. Sergeant Taylor was killed at 22, in Anzio, Italy. All but six of the original "Darby's Rangers" had been captured or killed. Willis Taylor was not only a man with an outstanding record during his time in the Army, he was also known to have a very positive outlook on life and the habit of carrying his New Testament and diary everywhere during his time in the Army. He once wrote home while stuck in a hospital, sick, stating he had "absolutely no complaints about any of his experiences on the Army", he was also described as a “fine sergeant to work under” by one Corporal who worked under him for some time. Willis wrote home quite a few times. Some of his letters were posted on The Berne Witness, where his uncle Fred Blum – Willis Taylor’s mother’s brother – lived with his family. In all of his letters, Sergeant Taylor sounds happy and positive, only giving minimal information about where he was – as was required of all soldiers overseas, but always reassures them he is fine, asks about how things are at home and on occasion, mentions he hopes to be home soon, not knowing that “soon” would not come. Sgt. Taylor is interred in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy. For his service he would receive the Purple Heart, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. Information collected and researched by Anna Bastos, 2017.
"Cpl. Willis Taylor in Sicily, Writes to Fred Blum's" The Berne Witness, 26 July 1943.
Indiana Historical Bureau, comp. Gold Star Honor Roll: Adams County. Bloomington: Indiana War History Commission, 1949. Print. Vol. 1 of Indiana in World War II.
“Sgt. Willis Taylor, 22, killed in action in Italy, parents Leroy Taylor’s, informed Thursday.” The Berne Witness, 3 Mar. 1944, pp. 1–2.
"Story Told of Battle of Rangers..." The Berne Witness, 10 mar 1944, pp 1&4
"Wife of Sergeant Taylor Receives Letter of Tribute" The Berne Witness, 13 Mar. 1944.
“Written passage giving a brief summary of Sgt. Taylor's life.” – sent to me by Shana Neuenschwander