The Hamilton County Commission unanimously approved Wednesday a $400,000 donation to two Medal of Honor exhibits, one of which is for recent medal recipient Larry Taylor, of Signal Mountain.
At a September ceremony at the White House, Taylor was awarded the Medal of Honor. In Vietnam 55 years ago, Taylor rescued four U.S. soldiers under fire while flying his attack helicopter.
“It’s my hope that for decades to come, young boys and girls will see this exhibit honoring Capt. Larry Taylor and realize they, too, can grow up in Hamilton County, attend a public high school and serve their country with the kind of courage we typically only see in a movie,” County Mayor Weston Wamp said in a news release.
(READ MORE: Signal Mountain veteran helping other vets, and himself, at TVA)
The $400,000 will go out in two $200,000 installments — one now and the other at the beginning of next fiscal year.
The tax dollars will come from $1.7 million of hotel-motel tax revenue withheld from the Chattanooga Tourism Co.
When the County Commission moved to withhold the funding in June from the agency that promotes area tourism, Wamp said it would be spent on enhancing recreational opportunities.
The donation approved Wednesday will go to the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, a nonprofit organization seeking to fund and display exhibits at the downtown Chattanooga center.
The center is seeking funding from the city of Chattanooga, the state and private donors.
The other exhibit will commemorate Super Six Four, one of the Black Hawk helicopters shot down in 1993 in Somalia. During the rescue mission, Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shughart and Master Sgt. Gary Gordon died while rescuing the downed helicopter pilots.
Both sergeants were stationed at Kentucky and Tennessee’s Fort Campbell.
Contact Ben Sessoms at bsessoms@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.