Bill Text: MS SR55 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Honor the service and sacrifice of Vietnam War Hero James Henry Taylor.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 6-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-20 - Referred To Rules [SR55 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2025-SR55-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2025 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Tate, Blackwell, McLendon, Parker, Hickman, McCaughn, Suber
Senate Resolution 55
A RESOLUTION REMEMBERING THE GALLANT SERVICE AND COMMENDING THE LIFE OF JAMES HENRY TAYLOR OF OLIVE BRANCH, MISSISSIPPI, WHO WAS LOST IN ACTION DURING THE VIETNAM WAR WHILE ON A SECRET MISSION.
WHEREAS, on March 16, 1962, Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 was on a secret mission, disappeared, and was never found. Tragically, all those on board, including 93 United States Army soldiers and 11 civilian crew members, including James Henry Taylor of Olive Branch, Mississippi, were lost; and
WHEREAS, very little is known about what happened to the plane and its passengers, and due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding the mission, the names of those lost have not yet been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, recently, many families and loved ones of these heroes gathered in Columbia Falls, Maine, where national nonprofit Wreaths Across America (WAA) is based, to be present for the unveiling of a new monument dedicated to the men who were lost. The new monument, which is made entirely of granite and stands 8-feet tall, 9.5-feet wide and 4-feet deep at its base, displays the engraving of each of the 93 Army soldiers aboard, as well as the names of the 11 flight crew members, many of whom were veterans themselves; and
WHEREAS, the inscription on the stone reads: "Missing in action; Presumed dead. Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 went missing on March 16, 1962, with 93 U.S. Army soldiers on board. These men and their flight crew perished in what would become one of the biggest aviation mysteries out of the Vietnam War era. THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES AND WHO REMAIN MISSING ARE INSCRIBED HERE SO THAT THEY WILL BE SAID ALOUD AND THEIR MEMORY WILL LIVE ON"; and
WHEREAS, the land on which the monument was erected was donated by WAA Founder Morrill Worcester, and is located on the balsam tip land where brush is harvested each year to make the veterans wreaths placed on the headstones of our nation's heroes on National Wreaths Across America Day; and
WHEREAS, during the ceremony, the names of each person aboard Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 were honored as they were read aloud, and there have been renewed efforts to add the names of the men who perished on Flight 739 to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall as an everlasting tribute to their sacrifice and service; and
WHEREAS, Dianna Crumpler was among the family members who attended the unveiling of the monument, as her brother, James Henry Taylor, was on Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, and Dianna, who, along with her brother, Curtis Taylor, was 17 years old when the flight disappeared, shared James Henry Taylor's story; and
WHEREAS, James Henry Taylor was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 17, 1938, to James Walter and Helen Taylor of Olive Branch, Mississippi, and he attended college at Northwest Mississippi Junior College, now known as Northwest Community College, in Senatobia, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, James was very popular in school, and his friends called him "Tater," and everyone who knew him commented that they never saw him when he wasn't smiling or laughing; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure at Northwest, he met and fell in love with Deanna Brown from Crenshaw, Mississippi. The duo was united in holy matrimony after he graduated from Northwest; and
WHEREAS, after his marriage and graduation from Northwest, James attended Southwest College in Memphis, now known as Rhodes College, and was pursuing a career as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church. He was serving as the youth director at his home church, Bethel Presbyterian Church, which is the same church his sister still attends in Olive Branch. The pastor at the time took him under his wing and loved him like his own son, mentoring him for the ministry; and
WHEREAS, after he finished two years of school, his wife, Dee, was pregnant with their first child, Merry Tamah Taylor-Mattix, so James decided the best way to take care of his family was to enlist in the Army; and
WHEREAS, James spent two years in the Army when Dee became pregnant with their second child. Before Jamie Ann was born, James re-enlisted in order to finish his next three years in the Army and also study to be a minister while in the service; and
WHEREAS, James had a month off between his two terms of service, so he brought his family back to Olive Branch to live while he served, or at least until he was stationed at a permanent base. However, the mission to Vietnam, Tiger Line Flight 739 was his first deployment; and
WHEREAS, James preached a sermon about going to Heaven the Sunday before he left on that final flight. The name of the sermon was "The odds against going to Heaven are 6 to 1," which was named after a popular song in the early sixties; and
WHEREAS, the Tiger Line Flight 739 mission was a very secret mission, so secret that the men were told they could not bring items that identified them in any way, so they had to leave wedding rings, pictures, dog tags, and everything at home; and
WHEREAS, many of the soldiers on Tiger Line Flight 739 told their families that they would likely not be returning alive, but James's family did not understand the intense danger of the mission; and
WHEREAS, the flight left on March 16, 1962, and was lost from radar between Guam and the Philippines or Saigon, but James's sister knows the flight made it to Guam because he stopped long enough while they were refueling to drop a postcard to his wife to tell her that he loved her and missed her and to give his location, but this was the last time anyone ever heard from him; and
WHEREAS, the largest search ever made in the Pacific at that time was launched with several countries joining in the search, but nothing, not even a shred of the plane, was found by anyone. After eight days, the search was called off, and the hearts of the family members of all those on board were shattered; and
WHEREAS, sadly, after James left, his daughter, Jamie Ann, was born with a heart defect and lived for only 12 days. His daughter, Merry, was two years old when her father departed on Flight 739, and she has said that it was difficult growing up without a father, and that not knowing what happened to him added a layer of grief and lack of closure; and
WHEREAS, Merry also attended the dedication of the monument in Maine, and being there among the sons and daughters of other parents who perished, she realized she wasn't alone, and to have her father and the fathers of others honored in such a meaningful way was healing for her; and
WHEREAS, James Henry Taylor's unflinching courage and gallant self-sacrifice reflect lasting glory upon himself and uphold the noble traditions of the infantry and the military service; and
WHEREAS, James Henry Taylor was a loving husband and father who is counted among America's heroes, committed to our nation's safety and security. To a country, a fallen soldier means a national loss; to a community, a fallen soldier means a true hero; to a parent, a fallen soldier means a son who won't be coming home. Mississippians understand the costs of conflict, because we have paid them in the past, and it is with great pride and humility that we recognize the heroic action of this great American and Mississippian, who was the guardian of civilization as we know it today:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby remember the gallant service and commend the life of James Henry Taylor of Olive Branch, Mississippi, who was lost in action in the Vietnam Conflict on March 16, 1962, and extend the thoughts and prayers of the Senate to his surviving family and our sorrow on his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of James Henry Taylor and made available to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.
