TURNER, HAROLD L. - Medal of Honor Recipient
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company F, 142d Infantry,
36th Division. Place and date: Near St. Etienne, France, 8 October 1918.
Entered service at: Seminole, Okla. Born: 5 May 1898, Aurora, Mo. G.O.
No.: 59, W.D., 1919. 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 machinegun
fire which reduced the strength of his command to but 4 men, and these
were obliged to take shelter. The enemy machinegun emplacement, 25 yards
distant, kept up a continual fire from 4 machineguns. 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 1 machineguns. 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.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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