Thomas Caldwell Turner (March 29, 1882 – October 28, 1931) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

who was a Marine aviation pioneer. He was killed in an accident while serving as the Officer in Charge, Aviation, a position which is currently known as the Deputy Commandant for Aviation.

Early career

Thomas C. Turner was born on March 29, 1882, in Mare Island, California. Enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1901, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant a year later. Turner served overseas in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, before taking part in the

battle of Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in east ...

in 1914. Turner was an aviation enthusiast and learned how to fly in his free time while he was the commanding officer of the Marine Barracks at San Diego.

Marine aviation career

In 1917, he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. The Marine Corps also approved a request for Turner to be temporarily assigned to the

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860 by ...

. While assigned to the Signal Corps, he held command of

Ellington Field Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegi ...

, an Army Air Station in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. On March 14, 1918, Turner earned his wings and was designated as

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

#772. He was also designated as the 73rd Marine aviator. In May 1918 Lt.Col Turner assumed command of

Barron Field Barron Field (Camp Taliaferro Field #2) is a former World War I military airfield, located West-southwest of Everman, Texas. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army between 1917 until 1921. It was List of airf ...

outside of Fort Worth, Texas and was still in command when the
Barron Filed Review
' was written in 1919. In October 1919, Turner was given orders to take part in combat operations against bandits with the First Provisional Marine Regiment in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. When he left Haiti in 1920, Lieutenant Colonel Turner was the senior ranking Marine aviator. Turner's friend,

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

John A. Lejeune, appointed him as the Officer in Charge, Aviation for the Marine Corps in December 1920. He would fill this position until March 1925. On April 22, 1921, Turner set a record for the longest flight ever made by a Marine or Naval aviator when he led two Airco DH-4s on a flight from

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

and back. For this flight, Turner was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Turner later went to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to command the Marine aviation elements of the 3rd Brigade. Supporting the peace-keeping operations in China, the Marine squadrons flew nearly 4,000 sorties. These sorties included conducting photographic reconnaissance of Chinese forces and transporting mail and passengers. Brigadier General

Smedley Butler Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881June 21, 1940) was a United States Marine Corps officer and writer. During his 34-year military career, he fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution, World War I, ...

praised Turner and his aviators for their service in China. In May 1929, Turner, now a colonel, was again made the Officer in Charge, Aviation.

Death

On October 22, 1931, Colonel Turner flew a new amphibious boat plane, the Sikorsky RS-1, to the Marine headquarters in Haiti. On October 26, he made a normal landing at a beach in Gonaïves, Haiti. The port

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

sank into the sand about two feet, and Turner exited the plane to inspect the damage. Turner did not take into account the depth the landing gear had sunk, and, consequently, the difference in height above ground between the number 1 and number 2 engines when he walked by the

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

, and he was struck in the side of the head and critically injured. He died two days later on October 28 in a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

. At the time, Turner was one of the best-known aviators in the Marine Corps. Turner was also due to be promoted to brigadier general, which would have made him the first Marine aviator to hold that rank. Turner's body was returned to the United States and he was laid to rest in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

on November 5, 1931. Major

Roy Geiger Roy Stanley Geiger (January 25, 1885 – January 23, 1947) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general who served in World War I and World War II. In World War II, he became the first Marine Corps general to lead a field army. Geiger comma ...

replaced Turner as the Officer in Charge, Aviation on November 6. The position was left unfilled for nine days due to the untimely death of Colonel Turner.. Turner Field at

Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico (MCAF Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located within Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. It was commissioned in 1919 and is currently home to HMX-1, the squadron that flies the President ...

was named in his honor. The

1st Marine Aircraft Wing The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa Island, Okina ...

was later formed on Turner Field in July 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Thomas C. 1882 births 1931 deaths American military personnel of the Philippine–American War Aviators from California Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents American military personnel of the Banana Wars American military personnel killed in action Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Marine Corps colonels United States Naval Aviators Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Haiti Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1931