Medal of Honor: Harold L. Turner, World War I, October 8, 1918

Name: Harold L. Turner
Rank: Corporal
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 8, 1918
Unit: Company F, 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division
Entered Service At: Seminole, Oklahoma
Born: May 5, 1898, Aurora, Missouri

Summary of Action
In the chaos of battle near St. Etienne, France, Corporal Harold Turner’s platoon came under withering fire from a German strongpoint. Bullets scythed through the ranks, cutting down men faster than replacements could advance. Refusing to be pinned, Turner gathered what survivors he could—scouts, runners, and even signalmen—into a makeshift platoon and led them forward through the storm.
When the enemy fire intensified, the group was reduced to just four men, forced into shallow cover only twenty-five yards from the machine-gun nest. As the guns shifted their fire for a moment, Turner saw his chance. With a shout, he leapt from the ground and charged alone across the open field, bayonet fixed. Before the stunned Germans could react, he stormed into their position, killing or disarming the crew and forcing the surrender of fifty enemy soldiers along with their weapons.
His single-handed assault silenced the guns that had halted the advance, allowing his company to surge forward and seize the objective. Turner’s raw courage and quick initiative turned a stalled attack into a victory that day and earned him the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor Citation
TURNER, HAROLD L.
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. Birth: 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 4 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.