Soldier’s widow finds purpose in sharing story
On a cold January day 10 years ago, an Arkansas woman’s life tragically changed the moment an enemy aimed to kill her husband. That day, her soulmate, Army Maj. Michael Taylor, was one of 12 passengers on a Black Hawk helicopter shot down in Iraq.
The fallen soldier’s wife, Wendy Taylor, has written a book, “Undefeated: A War Widow’s Story of Faith and Survival,” which details her journey of love, faith and surviving loss. Thursday, she spoke about the book during a program sponsored by the Bowie County Republican Action Committee, stating that her family’s lives were torn apart that day.
“The hardest part of this whole journey was having to kneel down in front of my children, Justin and Meredith, who were 11 and 6 at the time, to tell them that Daddy was not going to be coming home,” she said, adding that she will never forget the looks of disbelief and shock on their faces when they realized what she was saying. “When you see the light disappear from your children’s eyes, it will devastate you beyond belief. From that moment on, I knew my mission was to keep my children’s heads above water as I fought for my own life. I was determine to make Michael proud and continue living without him as best as I could.”
During that journey, Wendy said she greatly depended on her faith to get her through the dark times.
“I thought I knew what surrendering to God meant before Michael’s death. I didn’t,” she said. “I understood what suffering and surrendering
meant when I had nothing left but God. And that’s when I met God, face to face, mind, body and soul.”
From that day forward, she said fought every day to reclaim what was left of her life.
“The enemy may have destroyed the life that I knew, but I would fight back by learning to live well with my new one, with children by my side,” she said.
When her husband died, Wendy said she got on her knees and prayed to God that his wedding band would be recovered.
“I was well aware of the condition of the aircraft, but I asked anyway,” she said. “I heard a soft whisper in my heart that I would have it.”
Several times, people told her it would not happen. She said she kept her faith.
“I smiled and said ‘you wait and see what God’s capable of. He always, always keeps his word.’ And he did,” she said.
Not long after, she got a call from an Army casualty officer asking if her husband’s wedding band had markings or engravings.
“He said that one wedding band, only one, had been found in the wreckage,” she said. “He said it was baffling because so many passengers on the aircraft had wedding bands, but that they only found one, with black burn marks on it from the fire.”
Now, she carries it each day and feels like her husband’s spirit is with her always.
Wendy said telling the highs and lows of her experience through this tragedy is her purpose in life and that she had to go through great suffering to find it.
“Or rather, it found me,” she said. “I’m here to walk beside those that are taking the journey of grief and trauma.”
Her son is now a senior at West Point and her daughter is considering careers, possibly in counseling or the armed services. She said they’re moving forward with their lives, but that they haven’t quite found closure.
“I don’t really use the word closure, I still feel like we’re moving through life still,” she said. “We still grieve, we still cry, just not as much. Considering what we’ve been through, I think we’re doing okay.”
“Undefeated: A War Widow’s Story of
Faith and Survival,” is available at major booksellers and Amazon.com.