View source for Thomas C. Turner

{{Short description|United States Marine Corps officer}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Thomas Caldwell Turner
| image         = Thomas C. Turner.jpg
| birth_date    = March 29, 1882
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1931|10|28|1882|3|29}}
| birth_place   = [[Mare Island]], California
| death_place   = [[Port-au-Prince, Haiti]]
| placeofburial = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]<br />[[Arlington, Virginia]]
| allegiance    = {{Flag|United States of America|1912}}
| branch        = {{Flag|United States Marine Corps|1914}}
| serviceyears  = 1901–1931
| rank          = [[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|25px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]
| commands      = [[Deputy Commandant for Aviation|Officer in Charge, Aviation]]
| battles       = '''[[Philippine–American War]]'''<br />'''[[Banana Wars]]'''
* [[United States occupation of Veracruz|Battle of Veracruz]]
* [[United States occupation of Haiti|Occupation of Haiti]]
* [[United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–24)|Occupation of the Dominican Republic]]
| awards        = [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]
}}
[[File:Lieut. Col. T.C. Turner, Chief Marine flying Cap. LCCN2016847486.jpg|thumb|260px|Lt. Col. Turner wearing flight gear in 1923]]

'''Thomas Caldwell Turner''' (March 29, 1882 – October 28, 1931) was a [[United States Marine Corps]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] 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|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]] and [[Puerto Rico]], before taking part in the [[Battle of Veracruz (1914)|battle of Veracruz]] 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.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/Marine%20Corps%20Aviation%20The%20Early%20Years%201912-1940%20PCN%2019000316800_1.pdf|title=Marine Corps Aviation: The Early Years 1912–1940 (Part 1)|author=Edward C. Johnson|work=History and Museums Division Headquarters USMC}}</ref>

== Marine aviation career ==
In 1917, he was promoted to [[Major (United States)|major]]. The Marine Corps also approved a request for Turner to be temporarily assigned to the [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|Army Signal Corps]]. While assigned to the Signal Corps, he held command of [[Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base|Ellington Field]], an Army Air Station in [[Houston|Houston, Texas]]. On March 14, 1918, Turner earned his wings and was designated as [[United States Naval Aviator|Naval Aviator]] #772. He was also designated as the 73rd Marine aviator.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> In May 1918 Lt.Col Turner assumed command of [[Barron Field]] outside of Fort Worth, Texas and was still in command when the ''[https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth655044/ 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]]. When he left Haiti in 1920, [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] Turner was the senior ranking Marine aviator. Turner's friend, [[Commandant of the United States Marine Corps|Commandant]] [[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.4|Airco DH-4s]] on a flight from [[Washington, D.C.]] to [[Santo Domingo]] and back. For this flight, Turner was awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/42369|title=Thomas C. Turner|work=Military Times}}</ref>

Turner later went to [[China]] 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]] 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.<ref name=":0" />

== Death ==
On October 22, 1931, Colonel Turner flew a new [[Amphibious aircraft|amphibious]] [[Flying boat|boat plane]], the [[Sikorsky RS|Sikorsky RS-1]], to the Marine headquarters in Haiti. On October 26, he made a normal landing at a beach in [[Gonaïves|Gonaïves, Haiti]]. The port [[landing gear]] 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 (aeronautics)|propeller]], 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]] in [[Port-au-Prince]]. At the time, Turner was one of the best-known aviators in the Marine Corps.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/10/29/archives/col-tc-turner-of-marines-dead-chief-of-aviation-section-of-corps.html|title=Col. T.C. Turner of Marines Dead |newspaper=The New York Times|date=1931-10-29}}</ref> Turner was also due to be promoted to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]], which would have made him the first Marine aviator to hold that rank.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/Publications/Marine%20Corps%20Aviation%20The%20Early%20Years%201912-1940%20PCN%2019000316800_2.pdf?ver=2012-10-11-163525-807|title=Marine Corps Aviation: The Early Years 1912–1940 (Part 2)|author=Edward C. Johnson|work=History and Museums Division Headquarters USMC}}</ref>

Turner's body was returned to the United States and he was laid to rest in [[Arlington National Cemetery]] on November 5, 1931.<ref>[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgZ0dXJuZXISBnRob21hcxoBYw--/ Burial Detail: Turner, Thomas C] – ANC Explorer<!-- This is an official ANC website --></ref> Major [[Roy Geiger]] 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..<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acepilots.com/usmc/main.html|title=Directors of Marine Corps Aviation, 1919-1962|work=History of Marine Corps Aviation|publisher=AcePilots.com|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205053912/http://www.acepilots.com/usmc/main.html|archivedate=2007-02-05|accessdate=2007-11-19}}</ref>

Turner Field at [[Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico]] was named in his honor. The [[1st Marine Aircraft Wing]] was later formed on Turner Field in July 1941.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.quantico.marines.mil/mcaf/About/|title=Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico|work=Marines.mil}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Deputy Commandant for Aviation|Officer in Charge, Aviation]]
| years = December 13, 1920 – March 2, 1925 <br /> {{small|'''First term'''}}
| before = [[Alfred A. Cunningham]]
| after = [[Edwin H. Brainard]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Deputy Commandant for Aviation|Officer in Charge, Aviation]]
| years = May 10, 1929 – October 28, 1931 <br /> {{small|'''Second term'''}}
| before = [[Edwin H. Brainard]]
| after = [[Roy Geiger]]
}}
{{s-end}}

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