Edmund B. Taylor


Edmund Battelle Taylor was an admiral in the United States Navy. During World War II he saw service in the fighting in the Pacific, including the Battle of Cape Esperance, in which his ship, the was sunk, the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. In the last months of the war he was the naval aide to the Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal. After the war he commanded the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and was commander of the Antisubmarine Defense Force, Atlantic Fleet, during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Early life and career

Edmund B. Taylor was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 4 April 1904, the son of Edmund Blanton Taylor and Rebecca Attwood Taylor. He had three brothers, two of whom joined the Navy; the other joined the United States Air Force, and a sister. When Taylor was a boy, the family moved to Lima, Ohio, where he attended Central High School. On 1921, he was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he became an accomplished athlete. He was a member of the varsity football team, serving as its Captain in 1924, and the varsity lacrosse team, in which he was All-American in 1924-25. He was also a member of the basketball and boxing teams.
Taylor graduated on 4 June 1925, and was commissioned as an ensign. He joined the crew of the battleship, but returned to Annapolis in August 1926 as an assistant coach of the football team. On 1 September 1926, he married a local girl, Elizabeth Fay Valiant. They had two children, a daughter and a son. In 1929, he returned to sea duty on the battleship, where he was promoted to lieutenant on 4 June 1928. He joined the crew of the destroyer in April 1929, and then the destroyer in January 1931. In June 1932 he returned to Annapolis as an instructor in gunnery and an assistant coach of football and lacrosse. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 August 1934. In June 1935, he became executive officer of the destroyer and then, in December 1936, of the destroyer. From June 1937 to May 1939, he was a flag lieutenant on the staff of the commander of Destroyers, Battle Force.

World War II

Between June 1939 and February 1942, Taylor worked in the Records Section of the Officer Personnel Division in the Bureau of Navigation

Post-war

After the war, Taylor returned to Annapolis again as its head of the Department of Physical Training and Director of Athletics in My 1946. In July 1948, he became Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations on the staff of the Commander in Chief, Pacific. From January 1950 to January 1951 he commanded the heavy cruiser. After service in the Bureau of Naval Personnel at the Navy Department from February to December 1951, he became assistant to the Under Secretary of the Navy. Promoted to Rear Admiral on 1 September 1952, he commanded Destroyer Flotilla 2 in the Atlantic, and then, from February 1954 until September 1955, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. He was Chief of Information at the Navy Department from September 1955 to December 1957 and then Commander Destroyer Force, US Atlantic Fleet from January 1958 to December 1959. He was promoted to vice admiral in 30 December 1959, and commanded Antisubmarine Defense Force, Atlantic Fleet from January 1960 until November 1963, which included during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His final posting before retirement on 1 May 1966 was as commandant of the Fifth Naval District in Norfolk, Virginia.

Death

Taylor died in a Virginia Beach, Virginia, hospital on 30 April 1973 as a result of a heart attack. A memorial service was held at the Chapel-in-the-Woods at the Naval Air Station, Norfolk, and he was buried in the Woodlawn Memorial Gardens. He was survived by his wife, daughter Faye, and three brothers. His son, Navy Captain Edmund B. Taylor Jr., was killed in a helicopter accident in Vietnam on 8 May 1972.

Awards and decorations




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Dates of rank

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