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North Ogden veterans’ facility poised to be renamed for former mayor and fallen Utah soldier Brent Taylor

Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Veterans, family members of active and retired military and patriotic supporters celebrated Veteran's Day at the Barker Park amphitheater in North Ogden with a memorial for North Ogden's hometown hero Army Major Brent Russell Taylor, who was killed in action on November 3, 2018, while training an Afghan Army commando battalion in Afghanistan.

A veterans’ facility in North Ogden is poised to be renamed after Maj. Brent Taylor, the former North Ogden mayor who was killed in November while he was serving the the Utah Army National Guard in Afghanistan.

The North Ogden outstation of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would be named the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation under a bill introduced by Sen. Mike Lee and passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“In every aspect of his life, Maj. Taylor was a shining example of patriotism, sacrifice, and service," Lee said in a news statement. "It is only right that we honor his extraordinary life and hope others are inspired by it. To that end, it is a fitting tribute to rename the Ogden veterans’ center as the ‘Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.’”

Taylor was killed in Afghanistan by a rogue Afghan soldier in November. He had taken a year leave as mayor of North Ogden for his second tour in Afghanistan and had previously served two tours in Iraq.

The bill to rename the veteran center now goes to President Donald Trump.

“Utah will be forever indebted to Maj. Brent Taylor and his beautiful family," said Rep. Rob Bishop, who represents North Ogden in the House. “While the naming of a building will never repay the debt we owe, it can stand as a reminder of the willingness of Maj. Taylor to give his life in defense of the freedoms that make America great.”