George A. Taylor

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George A. Taylor (1899—1969) was an officer in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division during World War II.

His famous quote from Omaha Beach:

"There are two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are dead and those who are going to die. Now let’s get the hell out of here".

He arrived on the beach in a later wave, about 0800. A colonel at the time, he was the regimental commander for the 16th Infantry Regiment, which took many casualties in the initial assault. He found the remnants of his exhausted and shell-shocked men pinned down along the seawall. He was able to motivate, organize and lead the attack inland.

Taylor is sometimes confused with General Norman Cota, who was also on the beach that day, but in a different sector with a different unit, the U.S. 29th Infantry Division. Both officers rallied the troops under fire. In the film The Longest Day General Cota (played by Robert Mitchum) was given Taylor's line.

Taylor was promoted to Brigadier General and became the assistant commander of the 1st Division from Oct 1944 to July 1945. During the signing of the surrender of German forces, Taylor struck out the location "Elbogen,Sudetenland" and wrote "Loket, Czechoslovakia" instead. This act brought him great respect in Czechoslovakia.

Taylor retired in 1946 with the rank of Brigadier General.

Director Samuel Fuller served under Taylor during the war and mentioned his name in several of his films.