Brian Taylor, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by John C. Worsencroft, 20 November 2009

Transcript (56 pages) of an interview by John C. Worsencroft with Iraq War Brian Taylor on 20 November 2009. Part of the Iran and Afghanistan War Veterans oral history project, tape IA-23

Brian Taylor(b. 1969) decided to join the Marine Corps when he was twenty-six years old because he wanted to do something more than sell houses. Brian talks about his recruitment and his training. He had a real estate career and would sell houses for the whole month and then go to drill weekend. He describes drill weekend.Brian talks about 9/11 and knowing he would be going to war because of the attacks. He was mobilized to a quick reaction force mission in California at Camp Pendleton. They had to be ready to respond to another attack and trained accordingly. Brian was stop-lossed and stayed beyond his enlistment date. He talks about setting an example for the Marines he lead and the relationship he had with the Marines in his company.His company was attached to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and mobilized to Iraq. While they were in Kuwait preparing to invade Iraq Brian´s wife gave birth. He talks about the formation of his fire team before they were deployed. He describes preparations for the invasion and the plan as he understood it, which was a race to Baghdad. He first saw fighting in An Nasiriyah. They arrived in Baghdad and patrolled on foot and were eventually involved in a firefight. After that they cleared the UN complex. The company then moved to Al Diwaniyah for several weeks where Brian felt he lost the energy he had had during battle. He describes his return to Camp Pendleton, reuniting with his family, and readjusting to civilian life back home. Project: Saving the Legacy. Interviewer: John C. Worsencroft