Thin Blue News remembers Customs Pilot James Darryl Taylor during the week of November 9–15, 2026. November 15, 2026, marks thirty-nine years since his End of Watch on November 15, 1987. This is an anniversary remembrance, not a report of a new death. His official U.S. Customs and Border Protection memorial preserves his service with the U.S. Customs Service.

Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Authentic agency memorial photograph of James Darryl Taylor, not an incident image. Thin Blue News anniversary design; no synthetic likeness or CBP endorsement.

Ten years with the U.S. Customs Service

According to CBP’s official memorial for Customs Pilot James D. Taylor, he served with the U.S. Customs Service for ten years. The Officer Down Memorial Page listing records his full name as James Darryl Taylor and the same End of Watch date. CBP’s memorial identifies the agency as the U.S. Customs Service, prior to CBP.

This remembrance centers his civilian law-enforcement service. It does not infer additional assignments, awards or personal details from his portrait.

End of Watch: November 15, 1987

CBP records that Taylor and fellow Customs Pilot David Crater died in an aircraft crash near Calexico, California, on November 15, 1987. They were flying along the United States–Mexico border to serve as a reference point for radar detectors that had been moved into the area.

The official memorial says their Cessna 441 Conquest struck a ridge and crashed approximately one-half mile south of the border. A search began after ground units lost contact with the aircraft. This brief account does not reconstruct the flight or speculate about its cause beyond the agency’s published record.

Thirty-nine years remembered

November 15, 2026, is the thirty-ninth anniversary of Taylor’s End of Watch. Thin Blue News offers this remembrance with respect for his family, friends and colleagues, and for the civilian service preserved in his agency’s memorial.

James Darryl Taylor
Customs Pilot
U.S. Customs Service (prior to CBP)
End of Watch: November 15, 1987
Anniversary remembrance: November 15, 2026

Save the portrait-led digital remembrance card. The original agency portrait is small; this keepsake uses ordinary resizing without generated facial detail. No print-quality claim is made.

Sources and photograph credit

Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, acquired directly from the exact image URL embedded in the official CBP memorial. CBP’s published imagery policy identifies photographs on CBP.gov as public domain unless otherwise noted; no contrary credit or restriction appears with this photograph. Thin Blue News retained the entire photograph, proportionally resized it and added original remembrance typography. No objects or facial details were generated. Use does not imply CBP endorsement. CBP directs international-use inquiries to its Office of Public Affairs.

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