| Richmond Kelly Turner | |
|---|---|
| May 27, 1885 – February 12, 1961 (aged 75) | |
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| Nickname | "Terrible" Turner |
| Place of birth | Portland, Oregon |
| Place of death | Monterey, California |
| Resting place | Golden Gate National Cemetery San Bruno, California |
| Allegiance | United States of America of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1904 - 1947 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands held | USS Mervine (DD-322) USS Jason (AC-12) Commander Aircraft Squadrons, Asiatic Fleet USS Saratoga (CV-3) USS Astoria (CA-34) Director of the War Plans Division Assistant Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief Commander, Fifth Amphibious Force Commander Amphibious Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet |
| Battles/wars | World War II *Guadalcanal Campaign *Battle of Savo Island *Solomon Islands campaign |
| Awards | Navy Distinguished Service Medal |
Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner (May 27, 1885 – February 12, 1961) served in the United States Navy during World War II.
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Early life and career
Richmond Turner was born in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 1885. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy from California in 1904. He graduated in June 1908 and served in several ships over the next four years.
In 1913, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Turner briefly held command of the destroyer USS Stewart. After receiving instruction in ordnance engineering and service on board the gunboat Marietta, he was assigned to the battleships Pennsylvania, Michigan and Mississippi during 1916-19. From 1919 to 1922, Lieutenant Commander Turner was an Ordnance Officer at the Naval Gun Factory in Washington, D.C. He then was Gunnery Officer of the battleship California, Fleet Gunnery Officer on the Staff of Commander Scouting Fleet and Commanding Officer of the destroyer Mervine.
Following promotion to the rank of Commander in 1925, Turner served with the Bureau of Ordnance at the Navy Department. In 1927, he received flight training at Pensacola, Florida, and a year later became Commanding Officer of the seaplane tender Jason and Commander Aircraft Squadrons, Asiatic Fleet. He had further aviation-related assignments into the 1930s and was Executive Officer of the aircraft carrier Saratoga in 1933-34. Captain Turner attended the Naval War College and served on that institution's staff in 1935-38 as head of the Strategy faculty.
Turner's final field command was the heavy cruiser Astoria, a diplomatic mission to Japan in 1939.
Turner was Director of War Plans in Washington, D.C., in 1940-41 and achieved the rank of Rear Admiral late in 1941.
World War II
Turner was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (a new position created after Pearl Harbor for Admiral King) from December 1941 until June 1942 and was then sent to the Pacific war zone to take command of the Amphibious Force, South Pacific Force.
Over the next three years, while holding a variety of senior Pacific Fleet amphibious force commands as both a Rear Admiral and Vice Admiral, he helped plan and execute the conquest of enemy positions in the south, central and western Pacific.
In the rank of Admiral, he would have commanded the amphibious component of the invasion of Japan. However, in August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States and the USSR declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria. Japan surrendered in the wake of these events and Turner's invasion plans were never realized.
Postwar
Following the end of World War II, Admiral Turner served on the Navy Department's General Board and was U.S. Naval Representative on the United Nations Military Staff Committee. He retired from active duty in July 1947. Admiral Richmond K. Turner died in Monterey, California. He is buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California alongside his wife and Admirals Chester Nimitz, Raymond A. Spruance, and Charles A. Lockwood, an arrangement made by all of them while living.
Namesake
The guided missile frigate (later cruiser) Richmond K. Turner was named in honor of Admiral Turner
See also
- Guadalcanal Campaign, first major amphibious operation
References
- This article includes information collected from Naval History & Heritage Command, which is in the public domain.
- "Admiral Richmond K. Turner, USN (1885-1961)". Online Library of Selected Images: People — United States. Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-t/rk-turnr.htm. Retrieved 1 February 2009]}.
- Dyer, VAdm George C., USN (Ret) (1969). The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner. Introduction by Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller, USN (Ret). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. LCCN 71-603853. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ACTC/index.html.
- Also Turner Clan references.
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