On Veterans Day, Jennie Taylor says the price of freedom ‘is always worth it’ – The Spectrum

Jennie Taylor greets audience members after speaking about the price of freedom at the Spilsbury Mortuary on Nov. 11, 2019.(Photo: Kaitlyn Bancroft)

Multiple people wiped away tears as Jennie Taylor asked a pivotal question throughout her Veterans Day address: Was it worth it?

Taylor is the widow of former North Ogden mayor and Utah National Guard member Brent Taylor, who was killed on Nov. 3, 2018, while serving in Afghanistan.

A year and eight days after his death, she spoke at the Spilsbury Mortuary Chapel in St. George Monday about the price of freedom, asking if the sacrifices of all those who have ever served in the military were worth the freedom that America enjoys.

Jennie Taylor, holds her 2-year-old son Jonathan, as she says a few words during a candlelight vigil, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in front of her home in North Ogden for her husband Brent Taylor, was killed Saturday in an insider attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)(Photo: Rick Egan, AP)

Her answer: It is absolutely, without a doubt, unequivocally worth it.

At the time her husband died, she considered those sacrifices in a deeper, more personal and more profound way than she ever could have imagined, as she wondered if her husbands sacrifice was worth her seven children being deprived of a father and her community receiving a twelfth Gold Star.

But she recalled the lessons of her fifth grade teacher, who, at the time of the Berlin Wall falling and Saddam Hussein invading Kuwait, taught her to stand for what is right, to spread liberty and justice for all, and to be proud to be an American.

Jennie Taylor speaks about the price of freedom at the Spilsbury Mortuary on Nov. 11, 2019.(Photo: Kaitlyn Bancroft)

My journey as an American patriot began long before I ever knew or loved Brent Taylor, she said. And I know its true that long before he ever knew and loved me, we both knew we loved America.

Taylor said her husbands legacy is not his own; rather, his life was built on the legacy of every member of the military who came before him and every member that continues to come after him.

And she knows he was willing to sacrifice all, she said, because he said so in writing. In 2011, on the way to his third deployment to the Middle East, Brent Taylor wrote in his journal that his purpose as a soldier was far greater than his own family and his own life.

I go so that I can hold my head up among my proud fore-bearers who have fought for our country, he wrote in a passage that his wife shared. I go to do my part to keep my country and my family safe. I would go even if I knew I would die, because I am honor-bound to go and serve.

American Legion members conduct the Posting of the Colors ceremony prior to Jennie Taylor's speech at the Spilsbury Mortuary chapel on Nov. 11, 2019.(Photo: Kaitlyn Bancroft)

Jennie Taylor then asked if each person feels the same sense of honor her husband did, and emphasized that veterans are honored by the way each person lives his or her life.

We best honor those who have given their lives for us by making something of honor out of the lives that they have given to us, she said.

She also acknowledged sacrifices of all types, such as parents who send their children off to basic training; soldiers who have served in peacetime; soldiers who signed up in times of war; soldiers who served in lesser known battles; and soldiers who come home to survivors guilt, post-traumatic stress disorder and other challenges.

The price of freedom is incredibly high to those of us who feel weve been called upon to help pay it, she said. But the value of freedom is immeasurable to everyone who loves this great country And I can tell you it is worth it. It will forever be worth it.

It is up to us to make sure that is always worth it.

Kaitlyn Bancroft reports on faith, health, education and under-served communities for The Spectrum & Daily News, a USA TODAY Network newsroom in St. George, Utah. She's a graduate of Brigham Young University's journalism program, and has previously written for The Denver Post, The Daily Universe, Deseret News and the Davis Clipper. You can reach her at KBancroft@thespectrum.com, or follow her on Twitter @katbancroft.

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On Veterans Day, Jennie Taylor says the price of freedom 'is always worth it' - The Spectrum