CHANDLER, Ariz. — Relatives and old classmates of a Chandler High School graduate killed in Afghanistan a few years ago honored him Tuesday with the unveiling of a new memorial on the school campus.
Across from the school's American flag-styled bench is a new plaque honoring Brent Taylor, an alumnus of Chandler High's 1997 graduating class.
Major Brent Taylor lost his life while serving in Afghanistan in 2018. He became the first known sitting politician to be killed in action since the Civil War.
Taylor was honored at his alma mater Tuesday by family members and classmates who remembered his inspiring spirit.
Long before there were social media influencers, there was Brent Taylor. In a video from 1997, he addressed his graduating class as the school's student body president.
“Believe in something. It can be a cause. It can be a religion but decide what it is in your life that matters,” Taylor said in 1997.
His family called Brent a natural-born leader.
“He really had a passion for making the world a better place,” said Jennie Taylor, Brent’s widow.
He would take those leadership skills into the military just after the Sept. 11 attacks, and then later while serving as mayor of North Ogden, Utah.
“He wanted to make a difference in our country, our community, and in our world,” said Jennie.
While serving in the Utah Army National Guard, he was killed in Afghanistan in 2018 by an insider attack from a member of the Afghan National Defense who had gone rogue.
Major Taylor may be gone but his legacy will live on – his widow Jennie created the Brent Taylor leadership conference where Chandler High School students get an opportunity to learn Brent’s five points for leadership.
“I love the potential they have," Jennie said. "The capacity and I feel like it’s up to us as adults to help nurture that.”
When a Chandler student sits on the bench in the school's memorial plaza, maybe now they'll feel inspired by someone who once walked through the same hallways as them.
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