Golden State Today

UC Davis is set to honor its 136 Gold Star Aggies — students and alumni who sacrificed their lives in military service for the United States — at the university’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony on May 23. The ceremony, which will take place on the Memorial Union’s North Courtyard, will feature various campus and guest speakers, a rendition of the national anthem, and a reading of all 136 names listed in the Golden Memory Book.

Among those remembered is Mark Taylor ’86, an Army surgeon who lost his life in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on his clinic near Fallujah, Iraq, two decades ago. His name was included in the Golden Memory Book ten years after his passing. "I can’t think of a finer thing that I’d rather be doing than taking care of our soldiers,” Taylor had written in a letter home from Iraq.

Taylor, originally from Stockton, was part of the UC Davis Army ROTC and joined the California Army National Guard post-graduation. He trained as an officer in the National Guard and studied pharmacy at UC San Francisco before attending George Washington University where he earned a master’s degree in public health and a medical degree. After completing a residency in surgery at UC Irvine, Taylor returned to active duty in 2001.

Taylor was deployed to Iraq twice as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom during which he treated injured soldiers as well as civilians. His expertise was recognized by his colleagues with one stating that Taylor was “probably the most experienced general surgeon I had” and that he was loved by his patients.

The Memorial Day Ceremony will commence at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 23 at the Memorial Union’s North Courtyard followed by a reception inside the MU.

Taylor's tragic end came on March 20, 2004 when he was killed during an attack on his team's compound. He died urging fellow soldiers to seek shelter inside the clinic; he was 41. The attack also claimed the life of Sgt. Matthew J. Sandri, a combat medic from Shamokin, Pennsylvania.

Taylor had recently been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, an honor that was granted posthumously. He left behind a son and his parents. His father, also a veteran of the California Army National Guard, passed away a year and a half after his son.

The Memorial Day Ceremony will not only remember Taylor but all 136 Gold Star Aggies whose service dates back to World War I. Their stories are told in the Golden Memory Book on display in the MU’s East Wing and online.

Chancellor Gary S. May will deliver welcoming remarks at the event, with Michael Bradford, vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Education, providing the keynote address. Bradford is a Navy veteran who served as a ballistic missile submariner and with the Navy’s military police before joining UC Davis last year.

The ceremony is free and open to all attendees.