Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Winchester First Baptist Church for Petty Officer Second Class Taylor Gallant, the Winchester sailor who died Jan. 26 during a training exercise with theU.S. Navyoff the coast of North Carolina.
Winchester Mayor Ed Burtner asked Clark County residents to come out Saturday to pay tribute to Gallant and to show support for his family by lining the funeral procession route leading to Winchester Cemetery.
The funeral procession will begin at Winchester First Baptist Church on East Lexington Avenue, travel north on Main Street to Washington Street, then west on Washington Street to Maple Street, south on Maple Street to Lexington venue, then west on Lexington Avenue to the Winchester Cemetery.
“We would like to encourage anyone who wants to, to come out Saturday and line the route in a show of support for a fine young man,” Burtner said. “We encourage people to come out. It would be a fitting tribute to a true American hero.”
Also as a show of respect for Gallant, Burtner said, flags at all public buildings in Winchester and Clark County will be lowered through next week, and he, along with officials with Winchester First and the Winchester/Clark County Chamber of Commerce are asking all businesses to fly flags through Gallant’s funeral services Saturday.
Gallant’s family accompanied his body from Lexington Bluegrass Airport Thursday night, escorted by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and the Lexington Fayette County Urban Government Police Department to the Clark County line, then by the Winchester Police Department, Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police to the church.
Riders from the Patriot Guard lined Main Street to the church as the procession arrived and will lead the funeral procession Saturday.
Gallant’s mother, Beth Taylor Gallant, and grandfather, Bill Taylor, issued a statement earlier this week thanking the community for its support.
“This has been a very difficult time for all of us. We appreciate all of the support from our family, our friends and our community and the Navy,” the statement read. “Our entire family was invested in raising Taylor and he accomplished so many things in his short life. We raised him as a son and he died our hero.”
Visitation for Gallant will be today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at First Baptist Church located at 32 E. Lexington Ave.
A service celebrating Gallant’s life will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, with Dr. John Owen officiating.
Funeral honors and pallbearers will be provided by the Navy EOD Mobile Unit 12-Platoon 12-0-1, Navy Operational Support Center Cincinnati and Navy Operational Support Center Nashville.
Contact Bob Flynn at bflynn@winchestersun.com.
