Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Thomas B. Turner Jr., Army Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Thomas B. Turner Jr., 31

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Campbell, Ky.
1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: July 14, 2006
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany
Married, 2 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Cottonwood
High School: Mercy Catholic High School (Red Bluff)
Burial: Cottonwood Cemetery, Cottonwood, Calif.
Growing up in San Francisco, a bashful Turner played checkers and helped his dad tinker with motorcycles. "Him and his dad were inseparable," family friend Cindy Lopes-Sykes said. "There was a bond and a strength between them."

Turner was buried next to his father, Thomas B. Turner Sr., at a cemetery in Cottonwood, the Northern California town where he and his wife, Jennifer, planned to raise their 21-month-old son, Ethan, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Cantrell.

Turner had doted on Sarah, guiding her through homework and playing the game Memory as many times as she wanted. He sent her a birthday card early in July, even though she didn't turn 8 until month's end -- Turner wanted to make sure it arrived on time. After his death, Coghlan said, "My sister had to explain to my niece that Daddy is sleeping and he won't wake up. Sarah's comment was, 'Does this mean he won't e-mail me back?' "

Find pictures and read more about Thomas B. Turner Jr. here and here.

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