By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Editor’s note: Hometown Heroes is a recurring feature in the Plant City Observer in which we profile veterans from Plant City. If you have a loved one currently serving or who has served in the past, please contact Managing Editor Michael Eng by email at meng@plantcityobserver.com or by phone at (813) 704-6850.
The last time U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel S. Taylor saw some of his friends from Plant City High School, they were just 15 or 16 years old.
It was early 2007, and they were just boys.
Taylor’s love for his country had inspired him to graduate from high school one semester early — in December 2006 — and promptly enlist for a six-year commitment. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfathers, who both served in the Navy. He left home in February 2007 for boot camp in Great Lakes, Mich., graduated just days before his 18th birthday and transferred to San Diego to train to be a sonar technician.
In December 2008, he left for Yokosuka, Japan, where he has spent the last four years aboard the USS John S. McCain.
He never celebrated his high school graduation with his classmates, and when he finally came home last month, it was to a different Plant City. He left as a 17-year-old high school kid. He returned as a man of 23.
“It’s really weird to be back,” Taylor says. “The last time I saw my friends, they were like 15 or 16, and now we’re going to bars together.”
When his six-year enlistment officially ends in February 2013, Taylor will begin the next chapter of his life. He hopes to use the GI Bill to attend college — possibly Hillsborough Community College or the University of South Florida. He harbors dreams of studying quantum physics and learning to calibrate medical equipment in hospitals. Eventually, he wants to pursue his doctoral degree and become a college professor.
OUT TO SEA
Taylor spent as many as 300 days a year out at sea aboard the USS McCain. Throughout his entire enlistment, he returned home only a few times.
Likening the conflict between South Korea and North Korea to a second cold war, Taylor says the two countries fought constantly. When Taylor’s ship came into a port between the two countries, firing would cease to let it through. As soon as it passed, Taylor could hear the gunfire resume.
In 2010, Taylor watched on sonar equipment a South Korean ship exploding from an attack, allegedly by North Korean missiles. His ship was just 20 miles away.
“‘Oh, wow,’” Taylor remembers thinking. “‘This is serious. This is really happening.’”
Taylor also saw a lot of Chinese activity. A Chinese submarine was shadowing his ship in the South China Sea in 2009. Before both vessels knew it, they were on top of each other. The Chinese submarine allegedly damaged the sonar equipment. Taylor went down to check the steel cable that towed the sonar equipment behind the destroyer. Usually, it was taut. Taylor grabbed it, and it went slack.
“I thought, ‘This is bad,’” Taylor says. “I don’t even know what to do about this. There are no rules for this.”
“It was a little cat-and-mouse playtime between China and the U.S.,” Taylor’s father, Scott, says.
Perhaps the most dangerous situation Taylor faced was the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011. His ship was pulling into a harbor on a sunny day, when a rogue wave barreled through the waters. Several oil refineries dotted the coast just north of the harbor, and within minutes, dark mushroom clouds appeared in the sky.
“We thought, ‘Is this the end of the world?’” Taylor remembers. “This is definitely what it seems like.”
Taylor has a picture of the refineries silhouetted against a yellow-orange sky of fire.
The USS McCain stayed anchored overnight. The next day, the ship went in to gather supplies and then headed back out to sea to help with the relief effort. Aircraft dropping off supplies used his ship as a landing pad to refuel.
During those weeks, Taylor saw everything from hardwood flooring to dresser drawers float by 50 miles off the coast. He had to use a radiation counter to detect his levels and carry a radiation suit with him for emergencies.
“It was pretty unnerving, because it just looked like a sunken city,” Taylor says.
DOWN TIME
Although Taylor was at sea for the majority of his service in Japan, he still had time to explore the Far East. From giant Buddha statues, next to which Taylor was only as big as a toe, to a statue of Bruce Lee, Taylor took in as many sights as he could.
“The culture is completely different,” Taylor says. “In America, people are more independent. There, people are more community-oriented.”
He even visited Japan’s legendary Suicide Forest, where people have killed themselves on site out of honor since the year 800. Folklore states it is guarded by demons. Taylor and his military buddies spent the night there on Halloween.
His favorite city was Hong Kong.
“It’s just like a sailor town,” Taylor says. “One bar we went to had been there for 85 years.”
At a restaurant in Japan, a monkey waited on him. Taylor tipped his monkey server with soybeans. To get the monkey’s attention, customers ring a bell. Then, they give the monkey a colored card that indicates a menu item. The monkey brings it to the cook and returns with the food.
Taylor also climbed Mt. Fuji, taking five hours to reach the top. Being from Florida, he wasn’t accustomed to the altitude changes.
“There were little old Japanese ladies with their walking sticks passing me,” Taylor says.
HOME FOR GOOD
As Taylor’s six-year enlistment neared its end earlier this year, he stood at a crossroads. The Navy had offered him a promotion — a position on the Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron Two. But, after careful consideration, Taylor decided to come home — much to the delight of his family.
“Graduating from Plant City High at 17, then spending six years away from home, serving his country … he’s ready to come home,” his mother, Diane, had said before his return. “We’re ready to have him back. We’ve missed him so much.”
The family was able to keep in touch with Taylor through email and Skype. But at times, the time difference and the ocean made connecting difficult.
“It was tough,” Scott says. “That was the hard part — never knowing when you’re going to hear from him.”
Taylor agrees.
“A lot of times, they’d see something on the news and email me and say, ‘Did you hear about this?’” Taylor remembers. “I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m here dealing with it.’”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
