MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Friday morning, Northern Michigan University honored one of their own lost on 9/11.
Lieutenant Colonel Kip Taylor was an NMU graduate of 1985. He was a member of the university’s ROTC program, captain of the men’s basketball team, and eventually a recipient of the Legion of Merit and a Purple Heart.
His career led him to become an aide to the army’s deputy chief of staff in the Pentagon.
“Positions like that are rare, and the fact that he was hand selected to be a part of those units speaks volumes of the kind of professional he was,” said NMU Department Head & Professor of Military Science, Jeffrey Woleben.
Taylor was killed that morning at 9:37 a.m. along with 124 other people inside the Pentagon, and 64 aboard Flight 77. Just an hour before the attack, he had emailed a few friends about the love he had for his family. This included his wife, their 20 month-old son, and a second child on the way.
“He was ruminating on the facts that having children could transform your life way more than any kind of military service or any other accomplishments that he racked up during his career,” said Woleben.
Since 2009, the university has honored Lt. Col. Taylor and all other NMU war veterans with a plaque placed in the lawn of the Northern Center. A full rememberance column about him can be found here.
