美国国家公共电台 NPR A Utah Town Remembers Its Mayor, Killed In Action In Afghanistan

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A U.S. soldier was killed Saturday morning in Kabul, Afghanistan, in what authorities are calling an insider attack. The soldier's name was Major Brent Taylor. He was a member of the Utah National Guard and the mayor of North Ogden, Utah. And, as NPR's Laurel Wamsley reports, he made a big impact on those who knew him.

LAUREL WAMSLEY, BYLINE¹: North Ogden is a town of about 19,000 people, a bedroom community for Salt Lake City just 40 miles to the south. And, since 2013, Brent Taylor was the town's mayor. The 39-year-old was also a longtime member of the Utah National Guard, and, in January, he was deployed² to Afghanistan. He had served an earlier tour there as a combat adviser³ to the Afghan border police. Since Taylor's deployment⁴, Brent Chugg has been North Ogden's temporary mayor.

BRENT CHUGG: I heard yesterday afternoon that he'd been killed. And, of course, it was very devastating⁵ to me. I've been trying to fill in for him while he's been gone as mayor, and he has big shoes to fill.

WAMSLEY: When Taylor left Utah for Afghanistan, schoolchildren in the town lined the streets and cheered for him as he waved from a motorcade. The U.S. Army says that Taylor was shot by a member of the Afghan military who was then immediately killed by other Afghan forces. Taylor had been supporting special operations forces in the region. Chugg said that today the town is reeling from the mayor's death.

CHUGG: They loved the man. He's well liked by everyone in North Ogden, and everybody loves his family. He has a very sweet wife and seven wonderful children.

MARTIN: Chugg described Taylor as dynamic and forward-thinking, a man devoted⁶ to his family, his church and his country. In a speech last year for Veterans Day, Taylor listed a number of contributions the U.S. has made to the world - chief among them, democracy. On that day, he thanked the veterans of North Ogden, who are gathered there.

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BRENT TAYLOR: The sacrifices of you and so many of your comrades have made it possible for America to be a source of light, scientific growth and human progress throughout its entire history. I thank you and pray always that God will bless America. Thank you.

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WAMSLEY: Taylor was supposed to return home in January.

Laurel Wamsley, NPR News.