On the recordApril 12, 2016
America and the Owen School of Management of Vanderbilt University suffered three devastating losses just during the month of March. The Shults family, which has already been mentioned, were a model American couple, but the first victim of terrorism with ties to Owen School of Management was Taylor Force, a young man who was raised in Lubbock, Texas, went to a military academy in New Mexico, was an Eagle Scout, and then attended and graduated from West Point Academy, served in the U.S. Army, did two tours in the Middle East, emerged as a captain, and then chose the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt for his business education. The young man was on a school trip to Tel Aviv in Israel, and he was murdered in a random knife attack by a terrorist. It is hard to think of a sadder end for a great and promising young life. The young Shults couple--my colleague Mr. Roe from Tennessee has already mentioned them--outstanding young people, probably no finer couple ever, and a couple with a sense of adventure. They went skydiving, they ran with the bulls in Pamplona, they saw the Eiffel Tower, and then as they were saying good-bye to her mother at the airport, were killed in the terrorist attack. So let us pay tribute to these three outstanding young people. Let's use their lives as models, and let's not be daunted by terrorism. We have to meet and beat this threat. ____________________
