Army Staff Sgt. Roger C. Turner Jr.

Died February 1, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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37, of Parkersburg, W.Va.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; killed in his sleeping quarters Feb. 1 when the logistical support area came under mortar attack in Anaconda, Iraq.

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Soldier remembered as family man, courageous and happy-go-lucky

Associated Press

SISTERSVILLE, W.Va. — A soldier killed during a mortar attack in Iraq earlier this month was remembered Feb. 10 as a devoted husband and military man who was both courageous and happy-go-lucky.

More than 50 people, including members of the Sistersville Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, attended the funeral for Staff Sgt. Roger Clinton Turner, 37, at a funeral home in Sistersville.

Turner, a native of Elgin, Ill., who listed his hometown as Parkersburg, was injured after his sleeping area came under fire near Balad, northwest of Baghdad, and died at a combat support hospital on Feb. 1. He was a vehicle mechanic assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas.

His wife Teresa Turner, who lives at Fort Hood, did not speak during the service but the Rev. William Williamson gave a statement on her behalf.

“While the world talks of weapons of mass destruction, an Iraqi weapon found you sleeping ... The weapon destroyed our lives,” Williamson said. “Every time there is a smiling child’s face in Iraq ... it’s because you made the sacrifice.”

Turner’s mother Dottie Turner, of Pomeroy, Ohio, was choked with emotion as she spoke of him.

“My son believed that this was a just war. He will always be remembered by his mother as a brave, courageous and caring son,” she said.

His sister, Denise Bunce, said he was a happy-go-lucky brother and a playful father to his children, 14-year-old Steven and 5-year-old Tabitha.

Turner graduated from Meigs High School in Pomeroy and attended Ohio University in Athens, where he studied theater for a year and a half before focusing on courses to be a schoolteacher. He left before getting his degree in elementary education.

He had been stationed at Fort Hood since 1999. He had also served in Desert Storm and had also served in the Navy.

Turner was buried with military honors at Greenwood Cemetery and was given a gun salute. Members of the 16th Cavalry Regiment from Fort Knox, Ky., who served as honor guard, removed an American flag that draped the casket, folded it and gave it to Turner’s widow.

“He made the peace in Iraq and he stayed to keep the peace for people there. He made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Maj. Gen. Terry Tucker, commanding general of Fort Knox.

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Fort Hood soldier killed in Iraq identified

FORT HOOD, Texas — A Fort Hood soldier who died from injuries he suffered during a mortar attack on a U.S. military base in Iraq was remembered by his family in Ohio on Feb. 3 as an artistic person who loved to sketch.

Staff Sgt. Roger C. Turner Jr., 37, died Jan. 31 after his sleeping area came under fire near Balad, which is northwest of Baghdad, military officials said.

Turner graduated from Meigs High School in Pomeroy, Ohio, and attended Ohio University in Athens, said his mother Dottie Turner, 61, of Pomeroy. Roger Turner was born in Illinois, moving with his family to Ohio when he was 8, she said.

“He did his job. He went there to fight for his country, and I’m very proud,” his mother said Tuesday.

Turner’s wife, Teresa; his 14-year-old son, Steven; and 5-year-old daughter, Tabitha, live at Fort Hood, where he was based.

Dottie Turner described her only son as an artistic person who loved to sketch, read comic books and play video games. While at Ohio University, Roger Turner studied theater for a year and a half before focusing on courses to be a schoolteacher.

“He really wanted to be an actor,” she said. “But he changed his major to elementary education because he wasn’t getting to do much more than building props.”

Dottie Turner said her son didn’t finish his degree at the university.

Roger became interested in the military while serving in the National Guard in college, and he served in the Navy for five years before joining the Army in 1988, she said.

He was a vehicle mechanic assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, according to Fort Hood officials. He had been stationed at Fort Hood since 1999.

He died of his injuries after being evacuated to a combat support hospital in Balad. The attack is under investigation.

Dottie Turner said Roger had four sisters and that his father died in 1983, a year before the son’s high school graduation. Ironically, Roger died on his father’s birthday, she said.

“He was my only boy. I’m going to miss him really bad,” she said, as her voice faltered.

“He loved his family and he loved his country. I think that’s the greatest thing you can say about anybody.”

Funeral arrangements are pending the arrival of Turner’s remains in Ohio.

— Associated Press