Taylor, Anton M.

Mark’s bio is written by Mark’s wife Sandy…

Port Arthur was a small town in East Texas with lots of oil refineries. Mark stayed away from them and preferred to work as a “flag boy” for a crop duster, dusting the rice paddies in the area. That’s where he got his first taste of airplanes. A far cry from the fighters doing the daring deeds in Europe during WWII and Korea. He had two best buds, Jerry and James, They were cousins that spent their time doing things I won’t mention but he called them the “Port Arthur Hoodlums”.   

Mark tried college at Texas A & M and TCU. He was politely asked to leave both institutions, Mark’s step-father, a Staff Sgt in the Air Force, took him to the AF recruiter and turned him over to them. It was a straight line to the AF Aviation Cadet navigator program in Harlingen, Texas. He also got lucky at the very end and met ME!!  He graduated at the top of his class and got an assignment to Radar Intercept School at James Connelly AFB, Waco, TX. Then to Walker AFB, Roswell, New Mexico. in the F-89.  A wedding took place shortly after, on July 11, 1960.

We weren’t at Walker long about six weeks and the squadron was deactivated. Being the second lowest ranking 2nd lt. Mark got his choice of Dow AFB, Bangor, Maine, or some other base in Michigan.  For some reason he took Dow. We were very glad he did. We met people that I am still in touch with, those that are still with us anyway. Two of our kids were born there. I saw snow for the first time and I heard the first old fighter pilot songs like Throw a Nickel On The Grass and Itazuki Tower. Mark did very well as a Voodoo Scope Wizard in the F-101B. He was credited with saving his pilot, himself and the aircraft after being scrambled from Dow at night looking for an unidentified aircraft. The other F-101 went into Mt. Baldy, killing both crew members. After serving his three years, he was eligible to apply for pilot training which he did numerous times until the Sgt. gave him a class date to rid himself of this determined young Officer. So here we come Big Spring, Texas. Webb AFB, class 64-G.  

Mark was a very dedicated student. He could think of nothing but getting an F-100 after Pilot Training. He finished ahead of nearly all his classmates. I didn’t realize how well he had been doing until the formal dining out. One of his classmates told me that Mark had won The Flying Excellence Award, the Distinguished Officer Graduate, and The ATC Commander’s Trophy. He received his first choice of assignments and we were off to Luke AFB and F-100 gunnery school.

He did well at Luke and our follow on assignment was Myrtle Beach AFB as a qualified F-100 Fighter Pilot.  Mrytle Beach (MB) is sort of a blur because Mark was hardly ever there. He was deployed TDY to Europe. We did get to go to Squadron Officer School together and a short stay at MacDill AFB in Florida when the runways were shut down at Myrtle Beach.  Other than that, in the 15 months we were stationed there, Mark spent three weeks in our house, one week at a time.

He then volunteered to go to Korat RTAB in Thailand. I thought that was better than Vietnam. Boy, was I ever wrong. I had no idea he was headed for the top secret Wild Weasel project in the second group of Hun pilots and EWOs. The first group had every airplane but one shot down and several of the crews were killed or captured. I never knew this until last year after being taken in by the Wild Weasel Society. They sent me pictures of Mark with his group, including then Major Gary Willard, the leader and master mind of the Wild Weasels (WW). I had never seen these pictures before. We were married for over 42 years and he never told me anything about this secret little TDY.

After flying 12 missions the F-100 was taken out of the WW project. It was decided that the F-105 had better electronic equipment and was better suited for the mission. Mark returned to Myrtle Beach to spend that last 3rd week in our house and it was off PCS to Torrejon AB in Spain. After less than a year there, he sent a letter to Randolph AFB volunteering to actually leave the F-100 and go to training in the F-105 and subsequent assignment back to Korat, Thailand. I didn’t know about this either. I found the letter in his old foot locker last year. That foot locker was like opening a Pandora’s box. I found a folder that has every flight he ever took, whether just riding or flying. It was his flight logs.

The Wild Weasels Society (WWS) wanted a copy of the ones he flew in Korat. I had Vic Viscarra (The author of THUD PILOT)  translate some of Mark’s mission symbols. He told me what they meant and I was amazed!!  There were never any tail numbers or Bear’s names in the logs. I believe Mark felt so badly about being taken out of the Weasel program as a 100 pilot, he wanted to go back with the 105 guys.

There is also the letter sent to the wing commander at MB saying what an asset he was to the mission. It is now in the WW section of the Aviation Museum. The F-105 volunteer request did not work out and we remained at Torrejon for 3 years when just about everyone went to Vietnam.  Mark continued in the Hun at Tuy Hoa AB in Vietnam for his year with over 180 combat missions flown.  During his tour of good work there, we met in Hawaii for R & R and made another Taylor.  Adam Scott Taylor was born on November 27, 1970 in Tampa. 

Mark did finally go back to school when the word came down that you wouldn’t get promoted to LtCol. unless you had that diploma. He accepted a non-flying assignment at the CAF-Command Advisory Function in Japan so that the family could spend some time together. After 4 years out of a fighter, he finally got his chance to get back in the cockpit. I developed a very bad back condition that needed surgery in the States.  He got on the phone, called MPC where he just happened to know someone and asked, find me a fighter somewhere!!!  All they had was a F-111 in New Mexico or a F-105 at George.  He took the THUD immediately!! 

Even though he had not flown the 105 before, he was accepted into the Squadron and was promoted the position of Operations Officer. I’m sure his experience at the beginning of the Wild Weasel project in the Hun, which the F-105 is famous for helped a lot. 

He won the Top Gun competition among two squadrons several times.  He was promoted to Squadron commander which of course is every fighter pilots dream assignment and career goal.

Our last move in the AF was back home to Texas, Bergstrom AFB, Austin. Mark went to work for the wonderful Major General John Taylor, leader of just about all F-105 AF Reserves. Mark was the Air Force Liaison Officer for McConnell and Carswell. He kept current in the 105 till almost the last day he was in the USAF. Gen. Taylor asked me to convince him not to retire.

I said believe me I had already tried my damndest! Gen. Taylor assured us both that he “had full colonel in his back pocket”. But, Mark wasn’t interested in any job as a colonel. He already had his sights set on the 737s that Southwest Airlines flew AND they were based in Texas!!  What’s not to like with that?

It took a while to happen but it did and he loved SWA. He always said he had the best of both worlds, flying fighters for the AF and flying for SWA.  After 16 years with SW Mark decided he had enough of packing a bag and staying in hotels. He retired and I actually talked him into moving to a state with Four seasons which was Tennessee. That’s as far north as I could get him and we loved it, no humidity and a beautiful home on a beautiful lake. But after four years, cancer found its way into our lives. He survived the first bout but the second in 2002 was stronger than he could handle. He is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, section 54-#469.  If you’re ever in the area, throw a nickel on the grass.