[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17825-17826]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO RETIRED BRIGADIER GENERAL KENNETH M. TAYLOR

 Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, all of us know what happened at 
Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We have seen and read about the brave 
men and women who fought that day. Today, I rise to pay special tribute 
to one of those men, Kenneth M. Taylor a retired U.S. Air Force 
brigadier general, a fighter pilot, war hero, and, of course, a Sooner.
  Seventy years ago, Ken Taylor graduated from high school in Hominy, 
OK, and entered the University of Oklahoma, as a pre-law student. Like 
many college students in 1938, he was enjoying life with his fraternity 
brothers but could not avoid thinking about what was happening in 
Europe, the South Pacific and Asia. He believed America would be going 
to war in the next year or two and wanted his first choice should his 
country go to war. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 and graduated 
from the U.S. Army Air Corps Training Center at Brooks Field near San 
Antonio, TX, on April 25, 1941. Second Lieutenant Taylor requested to 
fly fighters and, in June 1941, he was assigned to the 47th Pursuit 
Squadron at Wheeler Army Airfield in Honolulu, HI.
  After arriving at Wheeler Field, Lieutenant Taylor met another pilot, 
George Welch, from Wilmington, DE, and they became close friends. 
Taylor and Welch were both assigned to fly the Curtiss P-40B Warhawk, a 
single-engine, single-seat, fighter and ground attack aircraft. On the 
ground, they were seen as goof-offs and a nuisance to West Pointers. 
However, the commander of the 47th Pursuit Squadron, Captain Gordon 
Austin, said he immediately recognized their extraordinary skills as 
pilots and made them flight leads.
  About 3 a.m. on December 7, Taylor and Welch were just returning from 
their Saturday evening on the town. Just before 8 a.m., Taylor was 
awakened by low-flying planes and explosions. He jumped out of bed, 
quickly put on his tuxedo pants from the night

[[Page 17826]]

before, and ran into the street to see Japanese planes firing and 
dropping bombs on the base. He called Haleiwa Auxiliary air field where 
18 P-40B fighters were located and, without orders, he told the ground 
crews to get two P-40 fighters armed and ready for takeoff. Enroute to 
Haleiwa, Taylor and Welsh were strafed by Japanese aircraft as they 
made their 10 mile trek to Haleiwa in Taylor's new Buick. At the 
airstrip, they climbed into their Curtiss P-40B Warhawk fighters and 
headed towards Barber's Point at the southwest tip of Oahu. 
Unfortunately, the aircraft only had .30-caliber gunnery practice ammo.
  Initially, Taylor and Welsh saw an unarmed group of American B-17 
Flying Fortress bombers who were arriving from the mainland but then 
spotted twelve Japanese torpedo dive bombers near Ewa Mooring Mast 
Field, a Marine base near Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant Taylor shot down two 
dive bombers and was able to damage another before running out of 
ammunition and returned with Welsh to Wheeler Field to rearm with .50-
caliber bullets. On the ground at Wheeler, several senior officers 
climbed up on the wings of their aircraft and told them to disperse 
their aircraft and do not go up again. Luckily, as Lieutenant Taylor 
explained later, a second wave of Japanese aircraft flew over and ``the 
brass'' ran for safety. With fuel and ammo, Taylor and Welsh took to 
the air again straight into the wave of Japanese aircraft attacking 
Wheeler Field.
  As Taylor headed for a group of Japanese aircraft, he found himself 
in the middle of a line of Japanese planes. A bullet from a plane 
behind him came through his canopy about an inch from his head, hit the 
trim tab, went though his left arm and exploded. One piece of shrapnel 
went through his left arm and another piece went into his leg, ruining 
his tux pants. Taylor reflected on the injuries in a 2001 interview, 
saying ``It was of no consequence; it just scared the hell out of me 
for a minute.'' A few years after the interview, he received two slugs 
from his crew chief that had been found behind his seat. Welch saw 
Taylor's predicament and shot down the plane on his friend's tail, 
likely saving his life. Both pilots continued their aerial combat until 
they had chased the Japanese planes off the north shore and again were 
out of ammunition.
  Fourteen different American pilots were able to take off during the 
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and recorded 10 Japanese aircraft 
kills. Lieutenant Taylor was credited with two kills and two probables. 
On December 13, 1941, the U.S. War Department named Lieutenants Taylor 
and Welsh as the official first two heroes of World War II and both 
were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on January 8. When asked 
about his actions that day, Taylor reflected, ``I wasn't in the least 
bit terrified, and let me tell you why: I was too young and too stupid 
to realize that I was in a lot of danger.'' Lieutenant Taylor went on 
to a record total of six career kills, designating him as a flying ace.
  Ken Taylor served for 27 years of active duty before joining the 
Alaska Air National Guard in 1967. He has commanded at all levels, 
retiring as a brigadier general in 1971. His Pearl Harbor experience 
was portrayed in the 1970 film ``Tora! Tora! Tora!'' and the 2001 film 
``Pearl Harbor.'' Ken passed away on 25 November 2006 just a few days 
shy of his 65th birthday. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
  I am honored to be able to present this small tribute to an American 
hero whose leadership and bravery ensured our Nation and its people 
remain free and strong. We must never forget the sacrifices of those 
who have gone before us as well as those who are sacrificing today. I 
offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to Ken Taylor and his family 
for his service to our great Nation.

                          ____________________