Turner, W. D.

1933 - 1950  (17 years)

• Name	Turner, W. D.
  Birth	26 Jan 1933  [1]
  Gender	Male
  Reference Number	TURN.W004
  Military Service	Korean War, Private, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, 8th United States Army  [1]
  		Flag of the United States, 48 Stars (1912-1959) In 1912, two stars were added to the United States flag, representing Arizona and New Mexico, bringing the total number of stars to 48. They were arranged in six rows of eight stars each. American fighting men would fight under this flag during four wars: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the beginning of the Vietnam War. (In 1959, a…
  		United States Army Emblem Prior to the establishment of the "Department of the Army Emblem", there was no official display item to identify the Army. The Seal had traditionally been used to authenticate documents only and was not authorized for public display. In recognizing the need to provide a display item, the Secretary of the Army approved the emblem design as the…
  		United States Army
  		United States Army Enlisted Rank Insignia
  		Korean War (1950-1953)
  		Korea
  		Military Service Ribbons, Korean War (Generic) NOTE: This is a generic list of awards for Korean War Veterans This veteran may be entitled to fewer or more awards than shown here Contributed by Carl Wayne Gray
  		Eighth United States Army
  		Eighth United States Army
  		2nd Infantry Division ("Indianhead"), United States Army
  		2nd Infantry Division ("Indianhead"), United States Army
  		23rd Infantry Regiment, United States Army
  Death	1 Sep 1950	Korea   [1]
  	Cause: Killed in action
  Burial	Unknown
  Person ID	I24287	Carl Wayne Gray Research
  Last Modified	31 Jul 2023

  
  

  Father	Turner, Lee,   b. 20 Aug 1910   d. 23 Aug 1997, Picher, Ottawa County, Oklahoma (Age 87 years)
  Mother	Jenkins, Loumincia Louisiana,   b. 12 Jan 1912   d. 14 Oct 1988, Mannford, Creek County, Oklahoma (Age 76 years)
  Family ID	F10055	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Death - Cause: Killed in action - 1 Sep 1950 - Korea  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  NOTES FROM STEPHEN GREGORY "STEVE" LUKE (1947-2002): W.D. Turner Lied about his age entered the Army at age 15 to fight in the Korean conflict. He was killed in the fighting in Korea at age 17 in 1950. W. D. Turner, Private, of the 23rd Infantry Regiment, of the 2nd Infantry Division, of the Eighth Army, Korea 1950. On August 13 the 23rd Infantry Regiment entered the front line in Korea at the Naktong Bulge, which was already under attack by North Korean forces including tanks and infantry. Each day for the next three weeks the defenders spent their timme either driving off charge after charge by the North Koreans, or hugging their foxholes under North Korean artillery fire and air raids, or staring into the darkness at night interrupted every hour or so by enemy infiltrators who would crawl up to the foxhole line and try to kill Americans with knives. On September 1 the combat was especially fierce, the division of about 10,000 men earning no less than six Medals of Honor, a record. During the course of the action Private W. D. Turner was killed. The action continued to be vicious for another two days, so that the retrieval of the fallen was sporadic at best. On September 3 the division was forced to retreat from this defensive position and it was not until mid-October that American forces reconquered this battlefield.

  
  

• Sources

  [S213] Luke, Stephen Gregory 'Steve' (1947-2002), Luke.GED, (Luke, Stephen Gregory 'Steve' (1947-2002), 01 July 2001) (Reliability: 2).