| From the Fay Observer fayobserver.com
04/01/12:
Soldier dies in Afghanistan after accident at ammo supply point
By Alicia Secordand Paul Woolverton
Staff writers
A Fort Bragg soldier from Kentucky died Thursday in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Saturday.
Spc. David W. Taylor, 20, of Dixon, Ky., is one of two Fort Bragg soldiers killed in the war zone Thursday. He died in Kandahar province from injuries sustained in an accident at an ammunition supply point. The incident is under investigation.
Taylor was assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
A news release said Taylor was assisting in the movement of ammunition when some of the rounds he and other soldiers were moving exploded.
Taylor joined the Army in March 2010 as an infantryman. This was his first deployment.
"It was evident since the day I met him that David had all the qualities desirable in a paratrooper: smart, aggressive, committed and reliable. He displayed them readily in everything he did," said Capt. Brian W. Bifulco, his company commander.
Lt. Eric Fitzgerald, at Fort Bragg, used to be Taylor's platoon leader. "He was probably one of the most outstanding paratroopers in the whole platoon, just striving to be the best," Fitzgerald said. "When you wanted something done, when you wanted it done right, you went to Taylor for it," Fitzgerald said.
He said Taylor used to do the Crossfit physical fitness program five to six days a week in order to excel at the Army's physical fitness tests.
A release says friends described Taylor as a good man who always took the time and effort to help others.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear on Saturday announced that he will order flags at all state office buildings to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on the day of Taylor's interment. That date was still pending on Saturday.
Also on Thursday, Spc. Johnathon F. Davis, 20, of Griffin, Ga., was killed in Kandahar by enemy small-arms fire, the Department of Defense said Friday.
The Department of Defense initially misstated Davis' rank as private first class.
His loss is deeply felt in Griffin, said Senior Pastor Randy Valimont of the Griffin First Assembly of God Church. Davis' family joined that church when Davis was a young boy, Valimont said.
"He loved life, his God, his family and his church," Valimont said.
Davis was looking forward to becoming a father, Valimont said. "That's all he talked about, the last phone call to his parents and to his wife," a day before he was killed, Valimont said.
Davis and his wife, Kristen, had been married about 14 months, and she is eight months pregnant with their son, Valimont said.
Only four weeks into a six-month deployment, Davis would not have been able to attend the birth, so the family was arranging for him to watch online, Valimont said.
Davis followed one of his older brothers into military service and volunteered to serve in Afghanistan, Valimont said.
He joined the Army in August 2010 a cavalry scout, the Defense Department said, and joined the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division in February 2011.
His awards include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. |
