Sibaria Taylor always knew her father served admirably in World War II. Now she and her family members will have the evidence.

Thanks to the efforts of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s Bowling Green office, Taylor’s late father, Isaac Nathaniel Taylor, can be remembered through the Bronze Star and seven other badges and ribbons he earned while serving as a private first class in the U.S. Army from 1943 through 1946.

“My daddy is a hero,” Sibaria Taylor said Monday after a ceremony in which Paul presented the newly minted ribbons and medals as replacements for those that were lost in the years before her father’s death in 2007. “This means so much. I wish I would have taken the time to do this while he was alive, but at least his wife was able to get them.”

Sibaria Taylor, an active-duty Army officer, understands the significance of the awards that were on display Monday.

“The Bronze Star is symbolic of heroic achievement,” she said. “He didn’t talk much about what happened. I always tried to get more out of him about his war service.

“A black man getting a Bronze Star was quite an achievement. For my dad to have served in World War II and then come back to a place where he couldn’t even sit at a drugstore counter, he didn’t get the recognition that he deserved.”

Now he will, thanks to the efforts of his widow and Paul’s office.

“He didn’t think they could be replaced,” said Ina Taylor, an Owensboro resident who was married to Isaac Taylor for 24 years. “After he passed away, a guy from Owensboro told me to call Sen. Rand Paul’s office. I called and they started working on it.”

Bobette Franklin, director of constituent services for Paul, was able to round up replacements for the Bronze Star and these seven other awards: Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal, WW II Victory, Combat Infantry, Philippine Liberation ribbon, Honorable Service lapel button and Marksman Badge.

“We do one or two of these a year,” Paul said after the ceremony. “It’s a big deal. These people sacrifice for us. It’s important to honor their service.”

Isaac Taylor’s son-in-law James Johnson, who has served 28 years in the Army, was glad to see the awards replaced, even if he doesn’t fully understand how they were earned.

“The Bronze Star is a high award that you only get for heroic action,” Johnson said. “To get that as a private is very rare. I would like to know what the act was that he was recognized for. He kept a lot of stuff to himself. I’ll always wonder what the action was that led to him getting that medal.”

That Bronze Star and the other awards will soon have an honored place in Ina Taylor’s Owensboro home. She has a shadow box ready to display them along with other memorabilia.

“I’m glad this was done because it’s something to pass down to our children,” said Ina Taylor, who has 11 children and stepchildren. “They will know that he was an important man.”

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.