This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Sgt Ryan Mahana (Alcatraz)
to remember
Marine Gen Allen H Turnage.
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Contact Info
Home Town Farmville
Date of Passing Oct 22, 1971
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
General Allen Hal Turnage, who earned the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal while leading the 3d Marine Division on Bougainville and Guam in World War II, died 22 October 1971. General Turnage had retired from active duty on 1 January 1948, and was advanced to four-star rank on retirement by reason of having been specially commended for heroism in combat.
General Turnage was born 3 January 1891, in Farmville, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina before entering the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant on 17 November 1913. Following instruction for 17 months at the Marine Officers' School, Norfolk, Virginia, he joined the First Brigade in Haiti in 1915 and participated in expeditions against hostile Cacos in Northern Haiti, then was assigned to duty with the Haitian Constabulary until August 1918.
Almost immediately, he was sent to France where he served as Commanding Officer, Machine Gun Battalion, 5th Marine Brigade. Following World War I, he was an instructor at the Marine Officers' School, Quantico; served with the Gendarmerie d'Haiti again from 1922 to 1925; and completed the Field Officers' Course at Quantico. Later, between two tours of duty at Headquarters Marine Corps, he was assigned sea duty on the staff of Battleship Divisions Four and Three.
In 1935, General Turnage was appointed Director of the Marine Officers' Basic School at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, following which he served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, as Battalion Commander and Regimental Executive Officer, respectively. Ordered overseas in 1939, he served as Commanding Officer of Marine Forces in North China, and Commanding Officer of the Marine Detachment, American Embassy, Peiping. He returned to Headquarters Marine Corps in April 1941, and was serving as Director of the Division of Plans and Policies when World War II broke out.
In June 1942, the general was ordered to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to take command of the Base and its Training Center which included organization and training of two Regimental Combat Teams for the 3d Marine Division. That October, he joined the newly-formed 3d Marine Division as Assistant Division Commander, becoming Commanding General on Guadalcanal in September 1943. He then led the Division in the landing at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, 1943, and in the recapture of Guam, 1944.
After two years with the 3d Division, in September 1944 General Turnage was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps as Director of Personnel, and, later, as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. In May 1946, his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. His final assignment was as Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.
In addition to the Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Medal, his decorations and medals include: the Legion of Merit, Presidential Unit Citation, Guam, 1944; Navy Unit Commendation with two bronze stars, Bougainville, 1943, Guam, 1944; Haitian Campaign Medal, Haiti, 1915; Expeditionary Medal, Haiti, 1915-1917 and 1922-1924; Victory Medal with France Clasp and Maltese Cross, France, 1918; Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, Nicaragua 1932; China Service Medal, China, 1939; American Defense Service Medal with Base Clasp, China, 1939-1941; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze stars; American Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; Haitian Distinguished Service Medal, Haiti, 1925; Nicaraguan Medal of Distinction with Diploma; Dominican Order of Military Merit, Class Two with White Insignia, Dominican Republic, 1930.
Since September 1941, Camp Lejeune (luh-jern) has been the home of "Expeditionary Forces in Readiness", and throughout the years, it has become the home base for the II Marine Expeditionary Force, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Logistics Group and other combat units and support commands.
There are several major Marine Corps commands and one Navy command aboard Camp Lejeune. Some tenant commands include Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, II Marine Expeditionary Force, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, and the naval hospital to name a few. Marine Corps Base owns all the real estate, hosts entry-level and career-level formal schools and provides support and training for tenant commands; II Marine Expeditionary Force conducts operational planning for Fleet Marine Force commands; 2nd Marine Division is the ground combat element of II MEF; 2nd Marine Logistics Group is the combat service support element of II MEF; and 2nd Marine Air Wing, headquartered at Cherry Point, N.C., is the air combat element of II MEF. Additionally, the naval hospital provides primary medical care to service members and their families stationed at Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River.
Today, as in the past, Camp Lejeune's mission remains the same - to maintain combat-ready units for expeditionary deployment.
To help prepare warfighters for combat and humanitarian missions abroad, Camp Lejeune takes advantage of 156,000 acres, 11 miles of beach capable of supporting amphibious operations, 34 gun positions, 50 tactical landing zones, three state-of-the-art training facilities for Military Operations in Urban Terrain and 80 live fire ranges to include the Greater Sandy Run Training Area.
The base and surrounding community is home to an active duty, dependent, retiree and civilian employee population of approximately 170,000 people. The base generates almost $3 billion in commerce each year, coming from payrolls and contracts to support the structure required to train and equip our modern Marines.
Some services available aboard Camp Lejeune include: childcare, shopping, education, family support, hunting and fishing, dining, boating and swimming.
Some facilities on base include banks and credit unions, the commissary, the library, hobby shops, fitness centers, the beach, theaters and more.
From the supporting infrastructure, a tradition of excellence in doing day-to-day business has evolved. From environmental programs that include a state-of-the-art landfill and water treatment system to quality of life programs that ensure Marine families are taken care of, Camp Lejeune stands out as a superior military base.
Camp Lejeune is a seven-time recipient of the Commander-in-Chief's Award for Installation Excellence. This award recognizes the base on a Department of Defense level for effectively managing assets and developing quality programs to accomplish the mission of providing expeditionary forces in readiness.
The Marines, sailors, Coast Guardsmen and civilian Marines who provide for the efficient management of Camp Lejeune's assets strive to ensure even grander goals are realized in the future.