Chattanooga museum announces opening date for exhibit on East Tennessee Medal of Honor winner
The grand opening of the exhibit is scheduled for Saturday, March 29. It honors Taylor, a Chattanooga native and University of Tennessee Knoxville graduate who performed a daring helicopter rescue in the Battle of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War. Taylor was awarded the medal of honor in 2023.
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On June 18, 1968, Taylor landed a helicopter under heavy enemy fire in order to save four men. Since no evacuation helicopter was available, he instead used an AH-1G Cobra which was not designed for extractions. The four men had to cling to the helicopter's skids as Taylor flew them to safety.
'Like other exhibits inside the Heritage Center, we designed the Captain Taylor exhibit to serve as a lasting tribute to his courage and bravery on June 18, 1968—helping to ensure that future generations understand the legacy of our nation's heroes,' said David Currey, Executive Director of the MOHHC.
Taylor was originally awarded the Silver Star which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Taylor died just a few months later on January 28, 2024, at age 81.
'Chattanooga is the birthplace of the Medal of Honor. The first Medals of Honor were awarded for action in and around Chattanooga nearly 162 years ago, and Captain Larry Taylor is the latest of several American heroes from our area who has received the Medal of Honor,' Currey said.
Several activities are planned for the grand opening on March 29 including a special preview for MOHHC members at 8 a.m. and a 'Bricks of Honor' dedication in the Aquarium Plaza at 11 a.m. The public is invited to the ribbon-cutting for the exhibit at 1 p.m., but guests must buy a ticket.
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'Captain Larry Taylor's extraordinary heroism is a testament to the bravery and selflessness that define Chattanooga's finest,' said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. 'We are honored to play a role in supporting this incredible exhibit that preserves Captain Taylor's legacy and shares his story that will help inspire the leaders of tomorrow for years to come.'
In a press release, MOHHC thanked the city of Chattanooga, the Hamilton County government and Taylor's widow, Toni Taylor for making the exhibit possible.
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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘This fire could have been prevented': How utilities fought removal of old power lines
The abandoned power line suspected of igniting the Eaton fire could have been removed years ago under a rule proposed by state Public Utilities Commission staffers, but the regulation was weakened amid opposition from Southern California Edison and other utilities, according to records and interviews. State regulators have long known that old transmission lines could set off wildfires, and in 2001 they proposed a safety rule that would have forced Edison and other electric companies to remove abandoned lines unless they could prove they would use them in the future. Amid opposition from the utility companies, the Public Utilities Commission studied the proposal for several years, ultimately watering it down to allow the old lines to remain up until executives decided they were 'permanently abandoned,' records show. One of those old transmission lines, Edison's Mesa-Sylmar line that last saw service during the Vietnam War, is at the center of dozens of lawsuits claiming it ignited the devastating Eaton fire on Jan. 7. The inferno roared through Altadena, killing 19 people and destroying 9,400 homes and other structures. Edison has said a leading theory of the fire's cause is that the century-old line somehow briefly re-energized, creating an arc that sparked the wildfire. The investigation is continuing. Raffy Stepanian, an electrical engineer who was part of the commission's safety team that proposed the 2001 rule to take down abandoned lines, said commission members dialed back the regulation under fierce lobbying by the state's utilities. 'There was a lot of pressure on us to agree with utilities on everything,' Stepanian said, adding that the utilities 'pretty much wrote those rules.' Now retired from the commission, Stepanian lives in Altadena. His house survived the Eaton fire, but homes adjoining his property were destroyed. 'This fire could have been prevented,' he said. Edison, responding to questions from The Times, said the company kept the Mesa-Sylmar transmission line in place because it thought it might need the line in the future. It last transported electricity in 1971. 'We have these inactive lines still available because there is a reasonable chance we're going to use them in the future,' said Shinjini Menon, Edison's senior vice president of system planning and engineering. Menon said the company inspects and maintains the dormant lines to ensure their safety. Loretta Lynch, the commission's president in 2001 when the changes were proposed, said she remembers the safety staff coming to her and explaining why the rules needed to be strengthened. But the effort met with resistance from utility executives, she said. Ultimately, the commission allowed the utilities to debate the rules at dozens of workshops over two years. The weakened proposal was approved in 2005, less than two weeks after Lynch's term had expired. Lynch's departure left just three people on the five-member commission, which was chaired by Michael Peevey, the former president of Edison International, Southern California Edison's parent company. 'The folks who were trying to improve safety got pulled into a back room with a bunch of industry participants and what happened was a final decision that rolled back safety regulations,' Lynch said. In an interview this week, Peevey acknowledged that in the hindsight of 20 years, a time when utilities have repeatedly sparked some of the biggest wildfires in the state, the commission might have acted differently. 'If we knew then what we know now, perhaps we would have come to a different conclusion,' he said. 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'If we wanted to know where all of the inactive lines are, is there a place where we can get that information?' asked Assemblywoman Rhodesia Ransom (D-Tracy). 'Not as of today, Assemblymember,' Peterson replied. 'And I would, I guess, I'd say in part because the service territories are so large and the pieces of equipment are so numerous that a registry of a specific element may or may not exist. However, we'll take that back and look at it.' 'Is there a timeline requirement for them to remove abandoned lines?' asked Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita). 'There's no timeline,' Peterson responded. Terrie Prosper, a commission spokeswoman, wrote in an email that the commission expects the companies to inspect and safely maintain the dormant lines just as it does for those that are energized. 'Requiring utilities to remove power lines prematurely … would be shortsighted and could significantly raise bills for utility customers,' Prosper wrote. She declined to make officials available for interviews. Edison said earlier this year that the unused transmission line in Eaton Canyon may have become energized through induction, a process where magnetic fields created by nearby live lines cause the dormant line to electrify. The company built two transmission lines that run parallel to the dormant Mesa-Sylmar line. They were energized when videos captured the Eaton fire igniting under one of the Mesa-Sylmar transmission towers. After the 2019 Kincade fire, PG&E said it had agreed with the commission to remove 262 miles of lines that had no future use. The company said it would prioritize the removal of those where the risk of induction was high. 'At the right conditions, failing idle facilities can pose significant wildfire and safety risks,' PG&E wrote in its plan to remove the lines. Edison says it has 465 miles of idle transmission lines in its territory. Kathleen Dunleavy, an Edison spokeswoman, said the company could not release the locations of those lines because it was 'considered confidential.' How to define 'abandoned' State utility rules have long stated that 'permanently abandoned' lines must be removed so they 'shall not become a public nuisance or a hazard to life or property.' But utilities and commission safety staff sometimes disagreed on what lines had been abandoned. In 2001, when the commission and its staff proposed strengthening the rule, Edison was challenging the agency's finding that it had violated it by failing to remove an electric line at a Lancaster home that had been demolished. A man who Edison said was attempting to steal equipment had climbed the pole and been electrocuted, according to commission documents. Edison told the safety staff that it had a pending order for service to be re-installed to the property, arguing it was not abandoned. 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Instead the language revised the rule to define permanently abandoned lines as those 'that are determined by their owner to have no foreseeable future use.' With that definition, utilities could keep their old unused lines up indefinitely if executives believed they might be used in the future. The commission's vote 'perverted the entire intent' of the proposal meant to strengthen the rules, Lynch said. Instead the commission's final decision reduced safety requirements. 'It's very Orwellian,' she said. 'Up is down.' In an interview in July, Connor Flanigan, Edison's managing director of state regulatory operations, pointed out that commission staff had been given the power to block a company proposal at the workshops, which were open to the public. 'When the commission holds these proceedings, they try to be very transparent,' he said. The document outlining the commission's final decision includes quotes from Edison executives praising the workshop process. 'Like most parties, SCE achieved some, but not all, of the rule changes it sought,' the executives said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
SIG SAUER Experience Center Museum: Medal of Honor Recipient - Captain Larry L. Taylor Tribute
NEWINGTON, N.H., July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SIG SAUER, a leading American defense and outdoor products manufacturer, is proud to honor Medal of Honor Recipient Captain Larry L. Taylor with a tribute display at the SIG SAUER Experience Center Museum. The display was unveiled July 11, 2025, and will be showcased for a year before being transferred to the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. Captain Taylor served in Vietnam from August 1967 to August 1968 with D Troop (Air), 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division as an Army aviator flying some of the first Bell AH1-G Cobra attack helicopters in combat. He flew over 2,000 combat missions in UH-1 and Cobra helicopters, was engaged by enemy fire 340 times, and forced down five times. He was awarded by the U.S. Army with at least 50 combat decorations, including the Silver Star, 43 Air Medals, a Bronze Star, and two Distinguished Flying Crosses. The Vietnamese Government also awarded Captain Taylor the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star. His most harrowing mission took place on June 18, 1968, when a four-man Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) team was surrounded by enemies just northeast of Saigon, Vietnam. The team was in danger of being overrun by a larger Viet Cong force when 1st Lt. Larry Taylor and his co-pilot and gunner J.O. Ratliff flew a AH-G Cobra helicopter gunship to support them on the ground, making low-level attack runs for 45 minutes. The helicopters supporting the LRRP were almost out of ammunition, and due to lack of firepower protection the UH-1 "Huey" rescue helicopter was canceled. With the enemy closing in, Taylor knew he was the only way out for the four-man LRRP team. Operating on his own personal motto—"No man left behind"—Taylor decided to disobey direct orders to end the mission and landed the Cobra under heavy enemy fire with co-pilot and gunner J.O. Ratliff. The patrol team, including SGT David Hill, sat on the rocket-pods and skids; despite low fuel and nearly empty ammunition, Taylor carried them to safety. For Captain Taylor's profound altruism, the Army awarded him the Silver Star, upgraded in 2023 by President Joe Biden to the Medal of Honor. SIG SAUER is moved by Captain Taylor's profound acts of courage and dedication to duty. Likewise, the Company was honored to host Sgt. David Hill, and CW02 J.O. Ratliff at the July 11th unveiling ceremony for the Captain Larry Taylor tribute display. The display includes: CPT Taylor's Medal of Honor and the issuing certificate; CPT Taylor's flight helmet and summer flying gloves; A 1/35 scale diorama depicting the extraction; and Numerous photographs donated by David Hill and J.O. Ratliff. The case also includes a custom SIG SAUER Commemorative M17 pistol and walnut stand dedicated to CPT Taylor. SIG SAUER built Medal of Honor Commemorative pistols for all surviving recipients of this prestigious award. The pistols were hand crafted in collaboration with SIG SAUER Custom Works. Upon learning about Captain Taylor's story, the SIG SAUER team was driven to honor his life with a tribute to his service and valor. SIG SAUER would like to thank the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, Sgt. David Hill, and CW02 J.O. Ratliff for sharing Captain Larry Taylor's story and accepting our gift for his dedication to service. To learn more about Captain Larry L. Taylor's story please visit this moving video tribute, read the U.S. Army dedication, or visit the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center website. To learn more about SIG SAUER, please visit About SIG SAUER, Inc.: SIG SAUER, Inc. is a leading provider and manufacturer of firearms, electro-optics, ammunition, airguns, suppressors, remote controlled weapons stations, and training. For over 250 years SIG SAUER, Inc. has evolved, and thrived, by blending American ingenuity, German engineering, and Swiss precision. Today, SIG SAUER is synonymous with industry-leading quality and innovation which has made it the brand of choice amongst the U.S. Military, the global defense community, law enforcement, competitive shooters, hunters, and responsible citizens. Additionally, SIG SAUER is the premier provider of elite firearms instruction and tactical training at the SIG SAUER Academy. SIG SAUER is certified a Great Place to Work™. For more information about the company and product line visit: Media Contact:Phil StraderVice President, Consumer View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE SIG SAUER, Inc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
22-07-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Award-winning AP photographer Bob Daugherty captured history with speed and persistence
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