b. 05/05/1898 Aurora, Missouri. d. 12/03/1938 Caddo Lake, Texas.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 08/10/1918 near St Etienne, France.
Harold L Turner MOH
World War I Medal of Honor Recipient. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on May 3, 1919 for his actions as a corporal in Company F, 142nd Infantry, 36th Infantry Division, US Army, on October 8, 1918 near St. Etienne, France, in the final month of World War I. Born in Aurora, Missouri, he joined the US Army from Seminole, Oklahoma, following the US entry into World War I in April 1917. After completing his training, he was sent to the Western Front in France. On October 8, 1918 he singlehandedly captured an enemy machine gun position, an act which won him the Medal of Honor. He was presented with Medal in Cheney, France on May 2, 1919 by General William R. Smith. After the war, he returned to Oklahoma where he died at the age of 39.
MOH CITATION:
After his platoon had started the attack, Cpl. Turner assisted in organizing a platoon consisting of the battalion scouts, runners, and a detachment of Signal Corps. As second in command of this platoon he fearlessly led them forward through heavy enemy fire, continually encouraging the men. Later he encountered deadly machine-gun fire which reduced the strength of his command to but four men, and these were obliged to take shelter. The enemy machine-gun emplacement, 25 yards distant, kept up a continual fire from four machine guns. After the fire had shifted momentarily, Cpl. Turner rushed forward with fixed bayonet and charged the position alone, capturing the strong point with a complement of 50 Germans and four machine guns. His remarkable display of courage and fearlessness was instrumental in destroying the strong point, the fire from which had blocked the advance of his company.
BURIAL LOCATION: LITTLE CEMETERY, LITTLE, OKLAHOMA.
SECTION 4, LOT 7.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
