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NORTH OGDEN – A woman who was given a giant yellow ribbon from North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor when her son died while in service has given the ribbon back to Taylor’s family to honor his sacrifice.
Taylor gave the ribbon to Aurora Barboza in 2015.
After learning about Taylor’s death in Afghanistan on Saturday, she knew it was time to give the ribbon back.
Barboza lost her son to a roadside bomb nine years ago, also in Afghanistan. She said she somehow felt like it was happening all over again.
“It’s so hard for us,” Barboza said, holding back tears.
“Pete” Pedro Barboza Flores was only 27 years old and on his first tour in Afghanistan with the Marines when he died back in 2009.
Aurora said she never wanted her son to serve in the military, but it was a lifelong dream of his. She said her family was struggling with the loss of North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor.
“It’s hitting home again,” Flores’s brother, Rodrigo Barboza said. “You know, when we went through it, they were like right next to us, holding us and making us feel better.”
Flores’s body was laid to rest in Southern California where he grew up. By the time Aurora and her family returned to Utah after the funeral, she said Taylor and his wife had a roughly 5-foot tall yellow ribbon to present them.
“He went out of his way to pay tribute to my brother’s service,” Rodrigo said. “He became very close through that experience. He became a dear family friend.”
When the Barbozas learned about Taylor’s death, they said it was clear to them that the ribbon would have to go back to the Taylor family. After having it sit in Aurora’s front yard for nine years, the family drove the symbol of support to the Taylor home.
“They are beautiful persons,” Aurora said. “The whole family.”
Related:
Afghan pilot to slain mayor's wife: He taught me to love my wife 'as an equal'
In a moving letter to the wife of the North Ogden mayor killed while deployed in Afghanistan, an Afghan pilot who served with him said the Utahn taught him to love his wife “as an equal” and treat his children as “treasured gifts.”With the words “support our troops” printed along the front, the symbol of support and love now goes to remember another soldier.
“He has sacrificed so much,” Aurora’s daughter-in-law, Myra Barboza said. “He ultimately sacrificed for everybody — not just our family, but every single American.”
