Associated Press
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.
No. 072-04
IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 3, 2004
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Roger C. Turner Jr., 37, of Parkersburg, W.Va., died Feb. 1 in Anaconda, Iraq. Turner was in his sleeping quarters when the logistical support area came under mortar attack. He died as a result of his injuries.
Turner was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
The incident is under investigation.
POMEROY, Ohio (AP) -- A soldier who grew up in Ohio died during a mortar attack on a U.S. base in Iraq, the military said Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Roger C. Turner Jr., 37, died Sunday when his sleeping area came under fire near Anaconda, Iraq, the military said.
Turner graduated from Meigs High School in Pomeroy 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 eight, she said. Turner's wife, Teresa; his 14-year-old son, Steven; and 5-year-old daughter, Tabitha, currently live in Fort Hood, Texas, where he was based.
Turner, who joined the Army in 1988, 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, Iraq.
The attack is under investigation.
The Associated Press contributed this report
