 |
| Sgt. Hoke Turner served in the 34th Infantry Division and was killed in Italy. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=90278413 |
Hoke S. Turner never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on May 7, 1917 in Georgia. His parents were also both born in Georgia. His father was a building contractor. The family moved to Florida where he was a carpenter. Hoke had two older brothers, two older sisters, and one younger sister. By 1940 he had completed two years of high school and was working as a mailer for a company in Clearwater, Florida.
Hoke decided to leaving a packing job and joined the army on June 25, 1941 and was promoted up to the rank of sergeant. He served stateside in various army camps for more than three years. At some point during this time Hoke married his wife Evelyn. They did not have any children. Sgt. Turner left for Italy in October 1944 where he was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division already in action in Italy.
The regiment was in rest and retraining when Sgt. Turner arrived in Italy. During January, the 133rd Infantry was in a defensive position. A limited objective attack was scheduled for February 5, 1945. Sgt. Turner was likely killed by harassing artillery or mortar fire during the afternoon. After his death his parents received his last letter written the day before he was killed. In the letter he indicated he was in a safe part of the Italian front.
His remains were returned to be buried at Clearwater Municipal Cemetery. His wife remarried after his death.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
Thank you for this. Sgt. Turner was my great uncle, my grandmother's brother.
ReplyDelete