Army Sgt. Turner was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Turner died on July 14 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained on July 13 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Al Muqdadiyah, Iraq. Thomas is remembered as an extremely determined person and as someone who wasn't afraid to change the course of his life. His father died just weeks before he graduated from Mercy High School in Red Bluff in 1992. After graduating, he immediately took over his father's business, Tommy Turner Trucking in Cottonwood, and began driving trucks full time. When he met his wife in 2000, he decided it was time for a change. He sold his business and enrolled at Chico State University. There, he began working toward two bachelor's degrees, one in political science, and the other in international relations. Thomas was one year from graduating when he enlisted in the Army, partly to help pay for school and partly because it was something he'd always dreamed of doing. He was supposed to finish his second tour of duty in Iraq next month, return to his home earning his bachelor's degree and be with his family. His wife talked to him on the phone just hours before he went out on his final patrol. Thomas leaves behind a wife, Jennifer, a stepdaughter, 8, and the couple's 20-month-old son. He will be laid to rest in a grave next to his father.
Army Sgt. Turner was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Turner died on July 14 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained on July 13 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Al Muqdadiyah, Iraq. Thomas is remembered as an extremely determined person and as someone who wasn't afraid to change the course of his life. His father died just weeks before he graduated from Mercy High School in Red Bluff in 1992. After graduating, he immediately took over his father's business, Tommy Turner Trucking in Cottonwood, and began driving trucks full time. When he met his wife in 2000, he decided it was time for a change. He sold his business and enrolled at Chico State University. There, he began working toward two bachelor's degrees, one in political science, and the other in international relations. Thomas was one year from graduating when he enlisted in the Army, partly to help pay for school and partly because it was something he'd always dreamed of doing. He was supposed to finish his second tour of duty in Iraq next month, return to his home earning his bachelor's degree and be with his family. His wife talked to him on the phone just hours before he went out on his final patrol. Thomas leaves behind a wife, Jennifer, a stepdaughter, 8, and the couple's 20-month-old son. He will be laid to rest in a grave next to his father.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
-
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
-
U.S., Casualties From Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts, 2001-2012
-
U.S., Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current
-
U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
-
Web: Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-2016
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
