Joan Taylor was a devoted wife who navigated the challenges of wartime life as the young bride of a soldier serving in the Korean War. While her husband was stationed overseas, she lived with her parents and sent her spouse care packages filled with warm clothing, as proper winter gear had not yet been issued to them. Her first husband returned home early from Korea due to a family tragedy. Although he served as an Army Security Agent and did not see combat, he shared memories of bombs dropping and seeking safety in bunkers. Years later, Joan visited Korea with her second husband, which deepened her understanding of veterans’ experiences and instilled pride in their accomplishments. Throughout her life, Joan remained committed to honoring the legacy of Korean War veterans.
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Taylor: Neil C. Taylor and we’ve been married 38 years.
Interviewer: When did you get married?
Taylor: When or where?
Interviewer: When?
Taylor: July 28, 1973, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
Interviewer: So this is he’s your
Taylor: I am his second wife. He’s my second husband.
Interviewer: Do you have several children?
Taylor: Neil he has four boys and I have two daughters but we didn’t have any together but we all lived together when
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I married Neil.
Interviewer: So you’re one big family. Six children?
Taylor: Yes.
Interviewer: All are boys, girls?
Taylor: Neil’s boys, my two girls kind of fit in the middle uh with the boys and so they kind of went you know like that.
Interviewer: How old are they now?
Taylor: The oldest one is 57 the boy and my oldest daughter is 56.
Interviewer: Okay, very nice. How do you feel about
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participating in this project?
Taylor: I think it’s wonderful I think people should know a lot of this history. Many times you just read in a book there was a war but you don’t get any personal touch out of it so they might understand a little better.
Interviewer: What does it mean to you to be here today?
Taylor: Well I I’m very happy to do this.
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Well we went to Korea I believe it was about three years ago through the Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in Seoul and they treated us very kindly. Fabulous trip like a history trip you know and saw places that Neil talked about and we were treated so well.
Interviewer: You were affected by this?
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Taylor: Oh yes, yes.
Interviewer: What did you think with all these veterans walking down the sidewalk?
Taylor: You mean the Korean veterans?
Interviewer: Both.
Taylor: Because we did at to the Veterans Park meet some of the Korean veterans who fought at the same time Neil and the other men did and it was so nice. We had a Korean minister with us and he translated between the veterans.
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Taylor: And their faces would light up you know and something came up that they were familiar with and it was was an honor.
Interviewer: So he, you met the South Korean army soldiers
Taylor: Yes.
Interviewer: As well as the American men on the sidewalk.
Taylor: Well we’re in this a park where there was a bridge that you would cross over to the 38th parallel but of course the bridge is closed now but these veterans
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were just there walking around and we realized because they had their medals on and some part of a uniform and so we spoke to the minister with us and he said I’ll go see if they would like to talk and so of course they spoke in Korean and but he translated.
Interviewer: That was nice.
Taylor: It was.
Interviewer: What did they say?
Taylor: Well they they wanted to know where Neil and the other men had been
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and you know where they had been stationed. I really don’t remember what all they said but and it wasn’t a lengthy conversation but they did meet and they were very happy to meet the Americans, shook hands.
Interviewer: So they reminisced a little bit.
Taylor: Yes they did.
Interviewer: So did this affect your relationship with each other after you went with Neil to Korea?
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Did it do anything?
Taylor: Well it made me understand what he fought for. He would he was so pleased to see it so prosperous.
Interviewer: What was the biggest impact on the war on you? You lived through this.
Taylor: Well I was a young girl of 21 and I had
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moved home with my parents and I went to work every day, no children at that point and it just was worry. Neil talked about the cold winters. Well my first husband talked about the cold winters and the winter clothing hadn’t come in where he was and so we would send wool sacks and you know warm undershirts and things of that sort that we could send to help
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until their clothing came in.
Interviewer: You sent care packages.
Taylor: Yes.
Interviewer: Socks.
Taylor: Oh yes.
Taylor: Lined gloves and candy. You know anything that would survive on a long trip.
Interviewer: You seem pretty proud of your husband.
Taylor: Yes, yes.
Interviewer: When he returned from the war, do you remember anything about that?
Taylor: Well, I actually
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I have always known Neil because our families were friends, our parents were friends.
Interviewer: What did you think when he came home?
Taylor: Well you mean Neil? Of course I was not married to him and I really didn’t see him at that point. When he came home it was after my husband at the time, first husband came home because Dick came home like on a hardship case. His father had passed away and his mother
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was running the company business with the father and he was needed to help out at home. So it was very glad to have him come home and that was very happy occasion and he was with the ASA and
Interviewer: What’s the ASA?
Taylor; Army Security Agency, and he was rather isolated where he was at and stationed and so
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he was not involved in the act of fighting but was close to it and he talked about you know the bombs landing near them and they were in their bunkers at night and like Neil talked about the rats.
Interviewer: I forget your name.
Taylor: Joan. Joan E. Taylor. We live a mile out of the village at Cayuga.
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Taylor: Pretty much grew up out there.
Interviewer: And do you go the functions with him with the Korean War Veterans?
Taylor: Mm-hmm.
Interviewer: Did you have an auxiliary?
Taylor: No, the Korean vets do not have an auxiliary locally but they have events where you know the ladies are invited and involved in the park a little bit when something is going on.
Interviewer: So you help out?
Taylor: Mm-hmm.
Interviewer: So you know John Karwinza?
Taylor: Oh yes.
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Interviewer: What do you think of John?
Taylor: Well I think John is the kind of man you need to lead a group like that. He’s very gung-ho and full of life and enjoys it. It’s his whole life, that park and the organization and you need someone that has a spirit.
Interviewer: I know that Neil brought a photo album.
Taylor: Yes.
Interviewer: What do you think of the photo album?
Taylor: Well I think it’s wonderful. When we were in Korea, we went to a museum and there were lots of children groups
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in the museum. So Neil spoke with one of our people who was Korean and he asked one of the teenage girls if she would like to see a picture of Seoul back at the time of the war. So Neil showed her the snapshot where a good part of Seoul was leveled. She said no no no no and pointed outside, see, see, see. She was unaware of you know what Seoul was like at that time.
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