Our memorial was able to place Gunner boy with an amazing Marine hero, Tyler Vargas- Andrews. Gunner went through months of training before he and Tyler were introduced.

Taylor and Tyler were together on August 26, 2021 in Afghanistan when Taylor lost his life and Tyler was severely wounded.

Donations from our generous donors and sponsorships through our annual 5K event, made this union possible. We are on cloud nine with this feat and ready to do it again with another worthy veteran.

Special thanks to Sandra Flack, breeder from Ozark Mountain Corgis, Shepards, and Bernese LLC

Special thanks to Melissa Gauthier, trainer from B.Y.O.D. Dog Wash in West Plains, MO.

Special thanks to Eliza Jamison, trainer from Next Door K9.

Special thanks to Mrs. Kupfer, store manager of All Pet and Equine Supply store located in West Plains Missouri for hooking Gunner up with all the supplies he needed for his training.

Get to know SSGT Darin Taylor Hoover

“Be a Grown Ass Man”

“What is my number 1 rule?”

Taylor would ask this question to his Marines at least once a week, and you could always count on it being asked on a Friday afternoon before the Marines were released for the weekend. And always, without fail; Taylor would point to one of the Marines in the formation and he would answer back, “Be a grown ass man Staff Sergeant.” “Exactly,” Taylor would reply. And with that the Marines would go on and enjoy their weekend. It was part of our weekly ritual that we had, this was always the last thing the guys were told before we left for the week. Back on a Friday in February, we had a whole group of young Marines who had just joined our platoon a few days earlier. All of them were 18 to 19 year olds who had just graduated high school about 8 month ago. When it came time for Taylor to ask his weekly question he pointed to one our brand new Marines and said as he did every Friday, “What is my number 1 rule?” Low and behold this poor young kid did not know the answer, this was his first Friday with platoon. “Uh…uh….I don’t know Staff Sergeant,” stammered this young skinny kid in a voice that barely audible and full of fear as he looked down at the ground. At this point everyone in the platoon is silent, and no one is really sure what is about to happen. Even the more senior Marines have a look of hesitation on their face; you can see them trying to calculate what Taylor was going to do next- this was the first time this had ever happened. I myself was pretty to curious to see how this was going to turn out.

“Well you know what today is your lucky day,” said Taylor. “We’re going to give you the answer- hey there Sgt Tree can you tell this young Marine what my number 1 rule is? “You’re number 1 rule is ‘Be a Grown Ass Man Staff Sergeant,” said Sgt Tree in a loud booming voice so that everyone, especially the new junior Marines could be sure to hear. “Exactly, now I’ll tell you what I’ll give you a second shot,” said Taylor to the now clearly flustered young Marine. “What do you think I mean by that?” And once again in the most quiet voice that human could possibly emit this poor kid goes, “I do not know Staff Sergeant.” “I figured that,” said Taylor.

“So let me tell you. Being a grown ass man means that you will always look out for the Marines that you see around you, because they will always look out for you. If you see someone that needs help, go over and ask them what you can do to help them out. If you need help with anything you need to be mature enough to ask for help. Being a grown ass man means that if you make a mistake that you will own up to it, and then work to correct it. It means that if you have to think twice about doing something then you probably shouldn’t do it. If you make a mistake, its ok because no is perfect, we will still stand by you and still support, but a grown ass man learns from his mistakes.

But understand this, you as a grown ass man need to understand that there is no such thing as a mistake when it comes to morality. You are well aware of what that things like lying or stealing are wrong and those are not in fact mistakes- those are conscious decisions that you as a grown ass man are not allowed to make. Does that make sense?”

“It does Staff Sergeant,” said this young Marine though not in a quivering whisper as he had been speaking, but in a tone that was filled with confidence and respect. Taylor was the big brother and the father figure that so many Marines had never had. A lot of them had come to us from broken homes or had been raised by their grandmothers. It wasn’t that they hadn’t been taught what was right from wrong, it was that that some of them had just never had father figure that truly cared for them. Taylor was exactly that person. There was never a time when he was not acting in a way that should not be emulated. He would never hesitate to pull a marine, regardless of rank and pull him off to the side and ask him how thing were going if he had the slightest inclination that there was something bothering him. There are so many young men that Taylor took the time to mentor, to coach, and to listen to when he saw that they were going through something or just needed someone to confide in. And I can say with the fullest confidence that there are countless young men who have become not just better Marines, but better fathers, husbands, sons, and friends because of the influence that he had on them.

I want to give my deepest sympathies and condolences to everyone in attendance, the loss of Taylor is a void that simply cannot be filled and for that I am truly sorry. But I want to ensure everyone that Taylor will forever live on and that his impact will live on though those he considered his brothers. When young Marines check in they will hear stories about him, not just on his heroic actions but they will come to embody the values that he stood for and just like those he directly lead- they will as well go on to be better men because of it.