Army Staff Sgt. Cynthia R. Taylor

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Cynthia R. Taylor, 39, of Columbus, Ga.

SSgt Taylor was assigned to the 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died April 16, 2011 at Forward Operating Base Gamberi, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an Afghan National Army soldier attacked her with multiple grenades. Also killed were Capt. Charles E. Ridgley Jr., Sgt. 1st Class Charles L. Adkins, Sgt. Linda L. Pierre and Spc. Joseph B. Cemper.

Cynthia Renea Taylor was from Columbus, Georgia. She joined the Army in November 2003 and arrived at Fort Campbell in April 2004.

Taylor was with the 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She served as a wheeled vehicle mechanic assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company with the 101st Airborne Division.

Staff Sergeant Cynthia Renea Taylor was one of four 101st Airborne Division soldiers killed in Afghanistan. They died April 16th at Forward Operating Base Gamberi, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, when an Afghan National Army soldier attacked them with multiple grenades.

Others killed with the 101st Airborne Division were Sergeant 1st Class Charles L. Adkins of Sandusky, Ohio; Sergeant Linda L. Pierre of Immokalee, Florida; and Specialist Joseph B. Cemper of Warrensburg, Missouri. Capt. Charles E. Ridgley Jr.of Baltimore, Maryland also was killed. He was assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, which is based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

Major General John F. Campbell was quoted in a speech, about Staff Sergeant Taylor, and her fellow soldiers, as saying:

“We will remember them as not only soldiers but as parents and spouses and siblings and coaches and mentors and friends, and most all here, as Screaming Eagles,”

Awards and decorations given to Staff Sergeant Taylor include: Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal; Combat Action Badge and Driver and Mechanic Badge.

Taylor is survived by a daughter, Maggie J. Taylor of Clarksville, Tenn.; a son, Joseph L. Goodwin of Oak Grove, Ky.; and her mother, Judy A. Hart of Clarksville, Tennessee.


Army Staff Sgt. Cynthia R. Taylor was killed in action on 4/16/11.