West Point Graduate, Taylor Force, Killed During Trip to Israel

By Debbie Gregory.

Members of the Vanderbilt community will gather Friday, March 18, to remember Taylor Force, a graduate student who was killed March 8th  in a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, Israel.

“Innocent of any wrongdoing, Taylor was taken cruelly from his family, his friends, fellow students at Vanderbilt University, and his community, in an act of terror which we condemn with all of our strength,” said William Gaunt, the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Tel Aviv, on behalf of US Ambassador Dan Shapiro.

Ten other people were wounded in the attack in Jaffa, an ancient port city that is now part of Tel Aviv. The attacker, who was identified as a Palestinian, was shot and killed during the knife rampage.

Force, 28, was a first-year MBA student and a 2009 graduate of West Point. He was part of a group of 28 Owen Graduate School of Management students who traveled to Israel to learn about global entrepreneurship.

The business student was an avid skier and guitar player who loved horses and ranch life, following a childhood spent in Texas.

His attendance at West Point had Force following his grandfather’s footsteps.

Force served in the Army from 2009 to 2014, with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then took about a year off after active duty. He lived in Lexington, Kentucky, before moving to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt. He was due to complete his studies in 2017.

The Vanderbuilt service is closed to the public, and priority will be given to members of the Owen School community, as well as those who knew Force well.

We at MilitaryConnection.com would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the family, friends and schoolmates of this fine young man.

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