Gallant also was a father, a son, a grandson, a nephew and a friend.
The private funeral was held at Winchester First Baptist Church on East Lexington Avenue, and it lasted about an hour. The family requested that no media be in the church during the funeral.
Speakers included Rear Adm. Frank Morneau, deputy director for Expeditionary Warfare Division, who works at the Pentagon and has served more than 30 years as an explosive ordnance disposal technician; Lt. Brad Penley, Gallant's officer in charge at EOD Mobile Unit 12; and Petty Officer First Class Cliff Frazier, Gallant's leading petty officer and close friend.
Penley spoke about Gallant’s can-do spirit and his “willingness to do anything and help everyone,” John Gay, the public affairs officer for the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, said in an email.
“He also praised Taylor for spending his free time with his 3-year-old son when he was off duty,” Gay said.
Frazier referred to Gallant as an adventurer and a genius.
About 50 sailors attended the funeral, including members of Gallant’s team and other sailors from the EOD community.
As sailors carried Gallant’s flag-draped casket from the church and into the hearse at about noon, Gallant’s unit, Kentucky Patriot Guard Riders and members of the Marine Corps League lined the street and saluted him. The hearse was decorated with theU.S. Navyseal.
When the procession went down Main Street, hundreds of Winchester residents stood in the rain — some holding American flags and some saluting — to show their respect for Gallant and their support for his family.
Patrons of downtown businesses filed outside as they saw the procession coming. Two hundred-and-twenty Boy Scouts, dressed in ponchos and carrying flags, stood in front of the courthouse.
Winchester Fire-EMS hoisted a large American flag from its two ladder trucks as the procession went down Maple Street. Firefighters stood at attention in front of Station 1 as it passed. Clark County Fire Department firefighters blocked the intersections of cross streets to Lexington Avenue and stood at attention by their trucks as the procession went by.
David Weistroffer, a Winchester resident, stood underneath the Grant, Rose & Pumphrey awning on Main Street as the procession went by. He said he received a notice from the Winchester-Clark County Chamber of Commerce to come out.
“I just think it’s a matter of respect,” he said.
Gay said it was the first time he “experienced being in a funeral procession where the community lined the streets with American flags and many of them saluting."
“This made me very proud to serve, and I can only imagine how emotional it must have been for the family,” he said.
Contact Katie Perkowski at kperkowski@winchestersun.com.
