James Hardy Turner was born on November 27, 1924, in Martin, Weakley County, Tennessee. He was the son of Joe Smith Turner and Zilpha Dane Brown Turner. He entered the Army Air Corps in February 1943 after graduating from Martin High School in 1942. He underwent training at several bases, Scott Field, Yuma, Westover, and Mitchell Field, before joining the 826th Bomber Squadron, 484th Bomber Group, where he served as a Staff Sergeant and Radio Operator aboard B-24 #42-51882, taking part in numerous long-range bombing missions against German targets.

On February 20, 1945, 2Lt Orgene V. Colvin and his crew took off from Torretto Airfield in the Foggia Complex, Italy, as part of a mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Bolzano. During the attack, their B-24 was struck by six direct hits of enemy flak in the waist section. The blasts ripped the fuselage apart just behind the bomb bays, tearing the aircraft in two. The ball turret broke away and fell, while the forward section, still carrying its bombs, plunged into a dive, ignited near the ground, and exploded against the side of a mountain. The toll was devastating: four crewmen were killed instantly by the flak. Two others died when their parachutes failed to open, and three more perished later from exposure or starvation after bailing out. Only the pilot survived and was taken as a prisoner of war.

SSgt Turner was Killed in Action and is now buried in the East Side Cemetery, Martin, Weakley County, Tennessee, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, 484th.org/index.htm