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 by Maj. Welton I. Taylor editor Karyn J. Taylor Winning Strategy Press 2012 Softcover 436 pages photos, illustrations, maps ISBN: 0983867712 Cover Price: $28.95 Language: English  Order now at amazon.com Return to |
Two Steps From Glory A World War II Liaison Pilot Confronts Jim Crow and the Enemy in the South Pacific African American Welton I. Taylor graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1941 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Called to active duty at Fort Sill, OK, he trained with the 31st Field Artillery Training Battalion. When the United States entered World War II, he was assigned to the 184th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Custer, MI. Singled out by superior officers as a man of promise, Taylor was sent to the 2nd Army Air Force Liaison Training Detachment in Pittsburg, Kansas to train as a liaison pilot. He completed Advanced Flight Training back at Fort Sill. Assigned to the 596th Field Artillery Battalion, 93rd Infantry Division (Colored) he deployed to the South Pacific (SoPAC). As an artillery spotted flying the Piper L-4 Grasshopper nicknamed "Black Fury", he flew missions on Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and Morotai until the end of the Pacific War. In 1945, Taylor returned to University of Illinois on the G.I. Bill and earned his Masters Degree and his Ph.D. in microbiology on the G.I. bill. Over the next fifty years, he taught microbiology at the medical schools of the University of Illinois and Northwestern University; did ground-breaking research on preventing bacteriological contamination in the nation's food supply; helped France and Britain eradicate Salmonella in their imported foods; became Microbiologist-in-Chief at Children's Memorial Hospital and a consultant to twelve additional Chicago-area hospitals. He obtained four patents, published forty articles in scientific journals, developed a product still used by laboratories worldwide to certify foods as Salmonella-free. In 1985, had a bacterium named in his honor by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. In 2005, Taylor joined the Chicago chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and returned to his lifelong passion of flying. From then until his death in November 2012, he introduced inner-city children to the joys and challenges of flight and lectured to corporate, civic, and academic groups on the triumphs and frustrations of the Tuskegee Airmen and other black heroes of World War II. Return to Book Reviews | Add a review or submit for review Last Updated |
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