Eugene Taylor of Calumet marked his 100th birthday Monday, surrounded by friends and family at Our Lady of Mercy retirement home in Hubbell — a milestone that comes with a remarkable story of wartime service, entrepreneurship and enduring faith.
Taylor volunteered to serve in the United States’ Navy in 1942. Serving aboard the U.S.S. Neunzer during World War II, patrolling the North Atlantic as part of anti-submarine hunter-killer operations and escorting supplies to Europe. In April 1945, he was among the crew that helped hunt down and destroy German U-boat 546, which had torpedoed the U.S.S. Frederick C. Davis. Following Victory in Europe Day, the Neunzer’s crew escorted the captured U-boat 505 on a war bond campaign.
“I volunteered for four years in the naval reserve, and then I was called to action four days after I graduated,” Taylor said. “I went to the Great Lakes Training Center for two weeks, and then I was aboard a ship on the Atlantic Ocean.”
Taylor worked as an electrician and switchboard operator during his time on the Neunzer. The crew also took part in an operation escorting Italian submarines to Bermuda for training, during which sailors used fire hoses to refuel two of the submarines at sea.
Through it all, Taylor said the mission — not the danger — stayed at the forefront of his mind.
“We didn’t think about getting home,” he said. “We thought about the job we had to do to take care of the ships, with supplies and troops, crossing the Atlantic to France.”
After returning home, Taylor took over his father’s business, Taylor Electric, serving residents, communities and school districts across the region for 28 years.
“Unfortunately, he passed away about five years after I got back,” Taylor said of his father. “So I took over the business and ran it for 28 years.”
Now at 100, Taylor says the formula for a long life is straightforward: walk every day and lean on your faith.
“Keep your faith in the Lord,” he said. “He’ll take care of you, if you surely let him.”
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