Master Sergeant Earley Eugene Turner was born on October 28, 1908, the son of Joseph Hugh “Hugh” Turner and Mary Sue Lankford Turner. He made the United States Army his life’s work, serving from August 6, 1930, until May 31, 1953. His military career began long before World War II, with early records connecting his service to the Pacific and Hawaii region and the 19th Infantry. During the war years, newspaper accounts noted that Turner had spent sixteen months on an isolated island in the Southwest Pacific before later assignment to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky.
During World War II, Turner served with the 908th Field Artillery Battalion of the 83rd Infantry Division and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal on March 19, 1945, for meritorious achievement. After more than two decades in uniform, he retired from the Army as a Master Sergeant on May 31, 1953. His career stretched from the prewar Army of the 1930s through World War II and into the postwar era, representing nearly twenty-three years of service to his country. Earley Eugene Turner died on March 17, 1998, and is laid to rest at Holly Hill Veterans Cemetery, where his long record of military service continues to be honored.