USS Taylor (FFG-50) The Proud Defender. Photo by Minerva Bloom.
Members of the USS Taylor participated in the 67th Anniversary of Flight 19 Memorial Ceremony this past December 5th. Commander Dennis Volpe USN, the Commanding Officer with a crew of about 30 sailors and Officers got a tour of the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum. They enjoyed themselves in the company of WWII veterans and other dignitaries such as the Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Jack Seiler, among many others. Commander Volpe spoke to the large crowd that attended the Ceremony; while chosen sailors rang the memorial bell and placed a symbolic wreath. On the following day, several WWII veterans members of this Museum, were invited for a tour of the USS Taylor docked at Port Everglades. The veterans had an emotional tour of the Proud Defender, and marveled at all the advances in the military. The group got to meet more of its crew, and to top it all, they were given wonderful souvenirs of the ship.
Thank you Crew and Captain of the USS Taylor for the special tour of your ship, and for making the Flight 19 Ceremony a special one! We salute you!
And THANK YOU to ENS Caitlyn Levinson, Public Affairs Officer, and LTJG Brandon Lee Whigham, Training Officer of the USS TAYLOR for the transportation and reception!
Thank you Crew and Captain of the USS Taylor for the special tour of your ship, and for making the Flight 19 Ceremony a special one! We salute you!
And THANK YOU to ENS Caitlyn Levinson, Public Affairs Officer, and LTJG Brandon Lee Whigham, Training Officer of the USS TAYLOR for the transportation and reception!
The USS Taylor (FFG-50), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, is a ship of the United States Navy named for Commander Jesse J. Taylor (1925–1965), a naval aviator who was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism in the Vietnam War.
Taylor's keel was laid down by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine, on 5 May 1983. She was launched 5 November 1983, and commissioned 1 December 1984 in Bath Maine. The ship deployed to Northern Europe as part of the Standing Naval Forces, Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) in 1987 and the Persian Gulf in 1988 and 1990. Participated in Operation Earnest Will. In 1993, the TAYLOR changed homeport to Mayport, FL. As of 2005, is part of Destroyer Squadron 14. In August 2008 Taylor entered the Black Sea conducting a pre-planned routine visit to the Black Sea region to interact and exercise with NATO partners Romania and Bulgaria. It joined ships from Poland, Germany and Spain. In December 2009, TAYLOR celebrated 25 years in Commission.
