Monmouth soldier's life remembered
Spc. Marks was killed last week in Iraq, will be honored Friday
By Justin Much • Statesman Journal

September 3, 2009
By Justin Much • Statesman Journal • September 3, 2009

MONMOUTH — A thinker with a sense for adventure, a bit of a prankster and a grown man who made decisions for himself.



Those impressions emerged Wednesday when family members of Spc. Taylor D. Marks held a press conference at the Regional Training Institute on the Western Oregon University campus to discuss memories of their beloved son and brother's life.

The family reflected on Taylor's ambitions, their own apprehensions and sadness tempered by pride in a session that included tears and chuckles.

Marks, an Oregon Army National Guard soldier who was killed Friday in Iraq, will be honored locally with a memorial service at 11 a.m. Friday at Green Villa Barn, along with a lengthy procession that will travel through Independence and Monmouth, part of Salem and up to the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.

Guard Cpt. Stephen Bomar said the lengthy procession is unusual but that "it's something the family requested and the military is willing to fulfill." He added that other agencies, including the Oregon State Police and Oregon Department of Transportation, are instrumental in facilitating it.

On Wednesday, Marks' father Morey, of Salem, sister Courtney Marks, 15, of Monmouth and his mother and stepfather Michelle and Don Mack of Monmouth were on hand, along with family pastor Don McMillan.

Morey Marks said he felt the usual apprehension about his son's decision to enter the Guard shortly after his 2008 graduation from Central High School.

"I was apprehensive, frankly," Morey Marks said. "And I know his mother and stepfather and sister were too. … And our worst fears have been realized."

But he also was quick to point out that Taylor made his decision thoughtfully and that he wasn't a "gung-ho" or "overly macho" sort. He did love adventure, and entering the Guard was a part of that.

"We talked about it, and we thought he would want us to be proud of him because he died doing what he (loved)," Courtney Marks said.

Marks' interest in the National Guard heightened after he participated in mock insurgency exercises while he was in high school.




His mom also spoke of Taylor's "potato gun" — a waggish toy that at least once attracted the interest of local law enforcement personnel — that resembled a bazooka. Potato-gun stories were among many that have been shared by Taylor's friends with his family. She said the outpouring of support from friends and the community as a whole has been comforting, imbuing their grief with mixed episodes of "laughing and crying."



"The casseroles keep coming, the cookies keep coming and the people keep coming," Michelle Mack said. "We've gotten to know Taylor in a different way, one in which we see him through their eyes."

Taylor Marks had long-term goals of possibly studying business and Japanese. The Oregon Military Department said he was contracted to go to the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio in California but made the decision to defer his schooling to deploy with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

"The important thing is he thought he should be there," Don Mack said. "He was a grown man, and he made his choice."

Love an prayers to his family