Jesse Dean Taylor
Navy Captain
(1915-1996)
Jesse Taylor was a Navy Captain who received the Distinguished Flying Cross in WWII for finding and destroying a Japanese submarine found to be carrying precious cargo. He served in the Navy for a total of 21 years. After retirement on February 1st, 1957, from the Navy, Taylor went on to co-found LMP Steel and Wire Company of Maryville in 1960.
Early Life
Jesse Taylor was born on October 1st, 1915, in Watson, Missouri, to parents Jesse and Gladys Hindman Taylor. He graduated from Hamburg High School in Iowa and attended Northwest Missouri State University post-graduation. While attending Northwest, he was a part of the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity while pursing a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce. He also was a member of the 128th artillery battery of the Missouri National Guard in Maryville. This artillery battery is now known as the 129th. After graduating from Northwest in 1936, he was waiting to be appointed to the United States Naval Academy but gave up and entered flight training for the United States Navy at the Naval Air Station in St. Louis, Missouri.
Scan this QR Code or click above to view Jesse Taylor's senior picture in Northwest's Tower Yearbook! His picture is found on page 44-45.
Naval Career
From May 1942 to September 1943, Jesse Taylor was the Commander of the Seaplane Scouting Squadron 62 at the Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida. From 1943 to 1945 he was the Commanding Officer of Composite Squadron VC69 and flew the Grumman TBF Avenger. In May of 1944, Taylor and his squadron were assigned to the USS Bogue, an aircraft carrier. From the carrier, they would take off on scouting trips, and in one specific case, they were to take out a submarine that U.S. intelligence thought was carrying a shipment of gold, opium, quinine, raw rubber, and radar detection gear. Captain Taylor retired from the Navy on February 1st of 1957 after obtaining the rank of captain. His flight suit, helmet, and other Navy items are on display at the Nodaway County Historical Society.
Picture of a Grumman Avenger from the Library of Congress
The Sinking of the I-52 Submarine
On June 22nd, 1944, Taylor and his squadron intercepted the I-52 Japanese submarine when it was meeting with the German U-boat U-530 to exchange supplies and gold. The Avengers dropped flares to mark the submarine’s position and then dropped two Mark-54 depth bombs. The sub dived to avoid the bombs, which forced the Avengers to drop coded sonobuoys. Through these sonobuoys, they were able to listen to where to drop a Mark-24 acoustic horning torpedo. The Avengers also launched a second torpedo, and debris from the I-52 sub was found floating the next morning. This sub is the only recorded Japanese submarine sunk in the Atlantic in all of WWII
Post-War Endeavors
After WWII and his retirement from the United States Navy, Jesse Taylor co-founded the Lloyd Metal Products, or the LMP Steel and Wire Company, in Maryville in 1960. He flew around the country to 46 of the 48 continental states to sell and promote Lloyd Metal. They made products such as bolts, fully threaded rods, and rivets. He sold the company to Moog in 1974.
Resources
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Stairway of the Stars Booklet, Nodaway County Historical Society.
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Military Exhibit in NCHS Museum.