John Taylor is modest when asked about his experience serving with the U.S. Air Force in Europe during World War II.
“The only thing I know is they called and I had to go,” he said. “I didn’t do anything spectacular.”
The Gillsburg resident, who turns 100 today, served for three years during the war as a private first class.
He was born Dec. 15, 1922, and grew up in Arkansas and Texas. His father James operated cotton gins in both states.
When Taylor was still young, the family moved to Gillsburg, where his father operated a cotton gin and sawmill.
He’s been there most of his life, with some exceptions, including when his mother, Eunice Lee, died when he was in high school. Taylor went to live with his aunt and graduated from Leland High School in the Delta before returning to Southwest Mississippi.
After graduation, Taylor attended LSU and was drafted.
He reported to Keesler Air Force base in Biloxi for basic training before being sent to Sioux Falls, S.D., and California, then Belgium by way of New York.
“They sent a bunch of us out of New York,” Taylor said.
He recalled flying on a “glider” with 15 to 20 other men in Belgium.
The glider didn’t have a motor. An airplane would pull the glider until it was aloft and then cut it loose, allowing airmen to take flight without the noise of an airplane engine alerting the enemy.
“I got away with it and I was just tickled to death,” Taylor said.
Taylor came back to Gillsburg after serving in World War II. He married his wife, Mary Bowlin on his birthday, Dec. 15, 1950 — so he could remember their anniversary, he quipped. They were married just shy of 70 years when she died in 2020.
Taylor was a farmer and dairyman and worked for Production Credit, a company that issued farm loans. His late wife worked for Selman’s Jewelers and helped with weddings.
The couple had a son, John Taylor Jr., a grandson and two great-granddaughters.
They traveled all over the country in a motorhome in retirement.
Taylor recently looked at an old picture of himself from his time in the Air Force.
“I did have some hair at one time,” he joked.
Reflecting on his longevity, Taylor said the secret to a long life is eating good food, adding that he likes steaks.
“I’m just tickled that I’m here,” he said.
