Joe Gray Taylor
| Joe Gray Taylor, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 14, 1920 Tipton County, Tennessee, USA |
| Died | December 8, 1987 (aged 67) Lake Charles Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Louisiana State University |
| Occupation |
Historian Professor at McNeese State University |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Friday Taylor (married 1945-1987, his death) |
| Children |
Joe G. Taylor, Jr. |
| Parent(s) |
Bassil Gray Taylor |
Joe G. Taylor, Jr.
Harriet Eva Taylor
Bassil Gray Taylor
Joe Gray Taylor (February 14, 1920 – December 8, 1987) was a historian of the American South who published fifteen essays and eight books, including Louisiana: a Bicentennial History (1976). A World War II hero, Taylor was affiliated for most of his career with McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Taylor was born in Tipton County, located north of Memphis, Tennessee, to Bassil Gray Taylor, who earned the family livelihood as a farmer and carpenter, and the former Lennie Fee Shinault. He was educated in public schools and attended Memphis State University, then Memphis State College, from 1937 to 1939. He taught in a one-room school in Tennessee from 1939 until 1941.
With the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Taylor joined the United States Air Force (then the Army Air Corps). He flew seventy missions as bombardier-navigator with the Twelfth Bomb Group in the China-Burma theater. He attained the rank of first lieutenant and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and three battle stars.
...
Wikipedia