William Bradford Turner (February 28, 1892 – September 27, 1918) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

, for his actions in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Turner lived in Garden City, New York, and attended St. Paul's School there for one year. In 1907 he transferred to

Trinity-Pawling School Trinity-Pawling School, founded in 1907, is an independent college and preparatory boarding school for boys from 7th grade to 12th grade. The 230 acre campus is situated in Pawling, New York, a small hamlet in southern Dutchess County. It is lo ...

, which was founded by the former headmaster of St. Paul's, Dr. Frederick Luther Gamage. He was a graduate of

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

, class of 1914, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. Turner is a direct descendant of the Europeans who settled New England in the early 1600s, including Massachusetts Governor William Bradford, and

Dorothy Quincy Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (; May 21 (May 10 O.S.) 1747 – February 3, 1830) was an American hostess, daughter of Justice Edmund Quincy of Braintree and Boston, and the wife of Founding Father John Hancock. Her aunt, also named Dorothy ...

, the wife of

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of t ...

. Turner joined the New York National Guard in the fall of 1915 serving in Machine Gun Troop, A Squadron. Mobilized on June 19, 1916, he served as a private when his unit pulled duty on the Texas-Mexico border from mid-July to mid-December 1916. His unit returned to New York and was demobilized on December 28, 1916. Once the United States entered WWI, Turner was offered and accepted a commission as a lieutenant in the 12th New York Cavalry (redesignated the 105th Infantry once it was mobilized). By September 27, 1918, he was serving in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

with the 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division. During an attack on that night, near

Ronssoy Ronssoy () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and terri ...

, he and a small group of others became separated from the rest of their company. Turner led the group forward despite intense

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

and

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

fire, several times personally attacking machine gun positions which were firing on his men. Although wounded three times, he continued to lead the group forward, capturing and clearing three lines of

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...

. After reaching their objective, a fourth line of trenches, Turner was killed while defending the position from a German counter-attack. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor the next year, in 1919. Aged 25 or 26 at his death, Turner was buried in France at the Somme American Cemetery.

Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company M, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division, American Expeditionary Forces. Born: 1882, Dorchester, Massachusetts. Action location: Ronssoy, France. Action date: September 27, 1918. War Department, General Orders No. 81 (June 26, 1919) Citation:

He led a small group of men to the attack, under terrific artillery and machinegun fire, after they had become separated from the rest of the company in the darkness. Single-handed he rushed an enemy machinegun which had suddenly opened fire on his group and killed the crew with his pistol. He then pressed forward to another machinegun post twenty-five yards away and had killed one gunner himself by the time the remainder of his detachment arrived and put the gun out of action. With the utmost bravery he continued to lead his men over three lines of hostile trenches, cleaning up each one as they advanced, regardless of the fact that he had been wounded three times, and killed several of the enemy in hand-to-hand encounters. After his pistol ammunition was exhausted, this gallant officer seized the rifle of a dead soldier, bayoneted several members of a machinegun crew, and shot the other. Upon reaching the fourth line trench, which was his objective, Lieutenant Turner captured it with the nine men remaining in his group and resisted a hostile counterattack until he was finally surrounded and killed.

Military Awards

Turner's military decorations and awards include:

References

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, William B. 1892 births 1918 deaths American military personnel killed in World War I People from Boston People from Garden City, New York United States Army officers Williams College alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Medal of Honor recipients World War I recipients of the Medal of Honor Military personnel from Massachusetts Burials in Hauts-de-France

Medal of Honor Citation

Military Awards

See also

References