The Untold Story of Philip Turner's Tragic End in the Vietnam War. He was Killed on May 24, 1968.

up here and then Daddy met him at the door and that's where mama and daddy sort of met for him to tell her you know that Phillip was dead Philip Gerald Turner was born to Davis and Geraldine Turner on July 25th 1947. he was the fifth of 10 kids and grew up in a farming community near the town of Jackson Georgia life was challenging and the entire family had to work together to make their small farm Prosper despite the hardships Philip loved to tease and play practical jokes on his siblings finding ways to keep them entertained even while they worked we lived on a farm and he was always pretending that he had gotten hurt in some of the machinery and stuff just get a laugh out of everybody and you know it's just little things like that he he aggravated us you know a lot but he was he was he was always coming up with something and he loved picking on people and telling horror stories to give you nightmares and things like that he was the practical joker Miss Turner cherished all of her children but it was Phillips mischievous nature that made her laugh deep inside he held a special place in her heart so it was always one of favorites for her because my mom used to think stuff was funny I mean you know we got weapons for things but he was funny too especially the boys the boys weren't bad they were mischievous the boys got away with a lot more than the girls did because she used to you know think it was funny so he he was a kid or a cut up you know that type of thing so she enjoyed him I guess she could say she you know the stuff that he did Philip also had a gentle sign over and over he would ask his dad for money to purchase new pencils for school after several times his dad scolded him for being irresponsible but reluctantly continued giving him the money years later his sister Cindy learned the truth about his disappearing pencils into a girl about two years ago I guess that had actually gone to school with Phillip Phillip used to get in trouble for little petty things and we always had plenty of food and clothing and roof over our head but light school supplies we were supposed to keep up with our school supplies and my dad would you know he would come home you know I need a pencil for tomorrow and what did you do to the pencil you know you had fella this is like the fourth one you've had this week and when I ran into this one of his classmates she said that he would always all the girls liked him at school I think and they would come to class and one of them would forget that pencil every day well Philip would break his pencil in half and give it to one of the girls and so you know it was that's you know it's well it made me feel good you know because I had a flashback when we were kids how he never had a pencil you know it could go to school with during the summer Mr Turner did give his children some Leisure Time one of Phillips favorite places to cool off was at High Falls Lake only a few miles from his home at the Lake's Inn stood a sizable waterfall with a drop of around 10 feet Philip and his oldest brother James affectionately known as Snooki liked to walk across the small ledge along the top of the falls below the Falls was a Whirlpool that could suck a person under and hold them to the bottom one day Philip slipped and tumbled down the falls and landed near the whirlpool in his probable snooky her brothers attacked me into taking them to half hours State Park I took them down there and all of a sudden they disappeared they got in the water and they disappeared I could not diamond and I was terrified and finally they came out they had gone in caves under the files and and stayed there quite a while and then they came back when they came out I got him out and took them home and they were the pretty tall waterfall down there and at the bottom of waterfall over the whirlpool that would sort of sucky armor and we was down there one day Snoopy and fill up myself and and uh Phillip was walking across the top of the falls where the water was running and it slipped and failed and slid all the way down into down the falls and went in that pool down there where the circle was and his brother snooky scared him to bed he run down the falls and never failed to go down and check on Phillips see if he was okay like a river flowing time carried away the Carefree years of Phillips Youth and with the war expanding in Vietnam he was drafted just shy of his 19th birthday his parents were livid his oldest brother Snooki had just started his tour in Vietnam and the thought of having two sons serving at the same time was more than they could bear however deep down Miss Turner had the greatest fear for Philip's well-being despite her profound concern for Snooki's safety it was Philip's service that gave her the most anxiety when snicky was serving she never worried about Snooki because sneaky was mature he had a good head on his shoulders you know that kind of stuff and he was a little bit older than Philip when he was drafted um I think he was like 22 or so you know somewhere along in there he was a little bit older and she worried about him but she knew that he had a good head on his shoulders he wasn't under anything foolish you know that type of thing but she worried about Philip because she was so afraid that Philip is going to try to be a hero that Philip was going to do something that was going to get him killed like it or not Philip left for basic training at Fort Benning Georgia in August of 1966. the good news was Fort Benning was less than two hours from his home so he could easily come home when he had a weekend pass during one of his visits he surprised his youngest brother David known as Crockett with a child's army uniform so he could dress like his two older brothers said but I think that was in when he was in Fort Banning when he first you know went in um in the service but he bought they would hitchhike part of the way home or some of the families would bring them part of the way Dad would go and pick them up you know a certain spot and you didn't have phones like you do now so it was just you know trying to work out a sequence where they could get you know get him home and but he brought a couple different times he bought bought some of his friends home with him and he went home with some of them sometimes you know unfortunately Phillips time at Fort Benning was short-lived and in late October 1966 he was relocated to Fort Polk Louisiana famously referred to as tigerland Fort Polk played a significant role during the Vietnam war training more infantry men than any other base the base is natural swampy terrain accompanied by high humidity and monsoon-like rains provided an ideal environment for preparing soldiers for the challenges of Vietnam Philip anticipated completing his training at Fort Polk however military life has seldom predictable and in March of 1967 he was unexpectedly transferred to Fort Hood Texas well I never could understand why Phillip was at Fort Polk so long and all of that but then I found out that my brother James snooky he was in Vietnam so he had already been drafted and so he was in Vietnam so they were delaying sending Philip um and uh snooky got out April 1967 April 1967 is when Philip went to Fort Hood in stark contrast to Fort Polk Fort Hood presented a strikingly different environment where Fort Polk was characterized by its wet flat and swampy terrain Fort Hood boasted dry Dusty Hills with scrub brush that stood in complete opposition to most of the landscape in Vietnam Philip found himself assigned to Alpha Company first of the sixth infantry 198th light infantry Brigade affectionately known as the gunfighters under the spirit the command of Captain Francis X Brennan despite being predominantly composed of draftees this unit was remarkably close-knit a fact that was apparent to Captain Brennan right from the beginning in meticulously assembled his team hand-picking experienced officers and non-commissioned officers many of whom were preparing for their second Tour of Duty he somehow managed to keep our morale up better than any company over there and what he did uh before we left is he rounded out his company with the best possible category he could find and he went around Fort Hood locating people that he had heard about or that he had read about or whatever that had already been to Vietnam and was willing to go back so he sent us back with uh platoon sergeants and some Squad leaders that had experience in combat and so I believe that we had one of the best uh uh managed and best commanded companies in Vietnam and Captain Brennan named our company the gunfighters before we ever left Fort Hood and we actually uh earned a pretty good reputation in Vietnam you know we just we just clicked together you know what I'm saying we felt pretty special being a gunfighter that was just something that I felt was a badge of honor it's just I don't know something about training all that time together and then especially uh the combat in Vietnam that made us really really close throughout the following five months Captain Brennan LED his troops through grueling training regimens days were spent in the field engaged in intense war games and tactical exercises it was during the month of April that Philip was assigned to carry the M60 machine gun while many others shied away from its burdensome weight and bulky nature and recognizing it also made them a prime target for the enemy Philip embraced the weapon wholeheartedly together with his assistant Steve Madison they formed an Unstoppable Duo operating as a lethal machine gun crew within the ranks of the third platoon the day they trained for finally arrived they flew to San Francisco California boarded the usns Upshur and on October 4th 1967 with nervous anticipation set sail for Vietnam the journey was incredibly unpleasant even before reaching the Golden Gate Bridge many soldiers felt nauseous and vomited over the side of the ship over the course of the trip more and more men fell victim to the sickness caused by the constant rocking prompting the ship to be unofficially renamed upchuck pure hell to me I was sick vomiting over the side of that ship every day didn't eat nothing at least the only time I've actually lost weight I've never been on a boat before and I was sick for yeah three days out and my job is to clean the gangways of guys filling up and I was one of the guys throwing up Don Kaiser always tells the story of us we're sitting at the table uh eating on the Upshur and the boat's going back and forth or like this and they had the uh the porthole was open you know and some of the water was coming in well of course I get sick look after a grueling 22 days at Sea they finally reached the Danang Harbor late in the afternoon however their misery was far from over they were transferred onto an LST where they spent the night as they sailed towards July confined within the hold of the LST they found themselves in an uncomfortable environment with a layer of water and rust coating the bottom adding to the absurdity of the situation the following morning they were instructed to change into clean fatigues while standing in two inches of water and filth given their expectations of disembarking and immediately engaging the enemy the request to change into clean uniforms seemed nonsensical to them little did they know that what awaited them would be far from what they had anticipated well we came out of the end inside of the the LST which was filled with rust and and it was filthy it was hot we changed clothes to have our good fatigues on and we thought we might get out fighting or at least shooting or you know possibly be under attack but when they opened the ramp there was a the U.S army ban so it's standing there on the on the dock so we came out on a parade with the band playing and what a surprise and we go up to the shores and they opened up those ramps and we got out to our own movement this a huge band playing one of the army sons was the war we all looked at each other so this is hilarious you know I said this thing is going to be I guess a cakewalk first I guess we're not going to do nothing from July they moved to duck Foe and were responsible for bridge security while receiving further in country training on November 1st 1967 only seven days after their arrival in Vietnam the gunfighters experienced their first firefight as Darkness descended the Vietcong launched an attack on the bridge at third platoon's position they swiftly engaged the enemy and Philip moved from position to position exposing himself to their incoming fire while unleashing a massive amount of lead from his n60 the Viet Cong were repelled and the battle concluded almost as abruptly as it had begun in recognition of his actions Philip was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Valor however the victory was tempered by the gunfighter's first casualty as Philip's squad leader Charles kaler was killed during the Battle Bridge security and we had our first little fight there on the bridges they attacked us at night one night they came through the water and started shooting at us and uh that was the seventh night we were in Vietnam and that night my squad leader got killed and uh of course that that put the fear in us that's when we realized that we were truly in a war zone and I think every one of us without doubt probably were thinking to themselves I want to go home now and it was a shock to lose one of our guys in the ensuing three months they were transformed from Green recruits to a season fighting unit as they battled small units of Vietcong however like other infantry men who served in Vietnam their ultimate adversary lay not with the NVA in Viet Cong but rather in the unforgiving Embrace of extreme elements mosquitoes leeches elephant grass monsoons scorching heat suffocating humidity and sleep deprivation were their true enemy these discomforts reached a crescendo on a particular day when third platoon was running patrols down a Dry Creek bed and Charter was a guy that he did he looked like a little Powder Puff but he was tough as a male and he would hurt you if you messed with he and I told him told him and Madison to shut up one time they were squabbling and it was hot when slept in a couple of nights and we hadn't eaten all day and the Flies were so thick you couldn't just couldn't keep them off of you and there was no Breeze blowing and we were walking down this little Dry Creek bed bed and they were just saying all kind of obscene things to each other like you know about 10 year old kids do you know and I turned around I said both of you shut up before I spank your butt I said like you act like little kids and Turner had a 50 round belt or a 100 round belt in his machine gun and he just turned it on me and flipped it off of safety and he said you shut up and I said okay no problem I can shut up on January 31st 1968 the North Vietnamese Army also known as NVA initiated widespread attacks across South Vietnam which later became known as the Tet Offensive the gunfighters had already spent several weeks in the field when they finally returned to base camp on February 7th for a much needed three-day stand down as Philip began to unpack his gear an unexpected order was issued they were to gather fresh supplies and assembled at the Hilo pad within the hour instantly repacking his belongings to let join the rest of the troops that made their way to the Hilo pad in typical military fashion it was hurry up and wait as they sat on the Hilo pad waiting for the Choppers to arrive Philip's intense boredom was briefly diverted when a large grasshopper landed on his leg you know when you're sitting on the helipad waiting for the chopper to come in to pick you up you get pretty bored and I remember Turner was sitting there Philip Turner he was my machine gunner and he had a green one of those Locust type grasshoppers on his fatigues and he said I'm going to give this thing 10 seconds to get off of my leg or I'm going to eat him and he started we all started counting down so when he had zero he just picked him up and put him in his mouth and started punching and munching and then he opened his mouth and showed us all what a chewed up grasshopper looked like and it was pretty gross the Chinooks finally arrived and the unit flew to the city of Danang it moved so fast we didn't have any Maps we didn't know where we were going we got on Choppers with a basic load of ammunition basically flew up to this Marine Corps base with no knowledge of what we were going to do when we got off the helicopters up there I stayed with Captain Brennan close to him and he was trying to get information from the Marines on where are your forces where are we going to operate what's the mission the the Marine Corps commander on the base really didn't know he knew we were coming and he didn't know how we were going to be used they finally figured out that we needed to be a blocking force and make sure that nothing happened to the Airfield but we had to move out and put ourselves in position so we marched from from that camp up the railroad tracks which paralleled Route 1 up towards the Nang and when we got to a little river right below Danang we turned to the right and went out towards the ocean and maybe oh not not even half a mile and uh around the village of logang and we camp that night well really we didn't we got there about two o'clock in the morning on the morning of February 8th after receiving sniper fire from the village Captain Brennan decided to investigate the village he positioned second platoon on his left third platoon on his right with his command group in the middle while first platoon followed in reserve as they Advance across the 500 meters of open rice paddy toward the village third platoon encountered hostile fire from a pagoda situated at The Village's Western Edge Phillips swiftly responded unleashing a barrage of M60 rounds into the Pagoda until the gunfire ceased the following day when the company swept through the village between 30 and 40 NVA were discovered dead in and around this pagoda unbeknownst to the company a formidable force of approximately 600 to 1000 North Vietnamese regulars lay in weight within the village as the gunfighters approached within 100 meters of the village the NVA Unleashed a barrage of small arms fire accompanied by the deafening Roar of machine guns mortars and Rockets then the NBA initiated a human wave assault launching a coordinated attack from the front of both platoons and the left side of second platoon the Serene rice Patty was now a chaotic Battlefield with Fierce hand-to-hand combat erupting in every direction and the handle whatever whatever you use to fight with we were doing it a lot of the fighting at in in the earlier times it was just returning fire in that general direction you received fire from that True Light you fired back very seldomly you saw them now he'll come in this man's face you're looking in this face he's looking at yours and I just knew to myself we were all going to die there wasn't any support coming in until you know later and uh so I do remember I remember I just I just told God I said God I said if you'll get me out of this I said I'll do anything you want me to do and I made that promise once more Philip fearlessly positioned himself amidst danger providing covering fire that enabled his platoon to retreat regroup and launch a counter-attack the Relentless battle raged on lasting well into the late afternoon despite being outnumbered the gunfighters valiantly fought back eventually driving the enemy from the battlefield but they also paid a heavy toll losing 19 are their brothers and suffering 34 wounded in recognition of their Valor the gunfighters were awarded the valoris unit citation honoring their actions in the face of adversity April 30th 1968 the NVA launched the second phase of the Tet Offensive Philip and his fellow gunfighters were relocated to LZ Center situated near the city of tamki which was a hotbed of enemy activity as night fell on May 5th while the gunfighters were guarding the perimeter of the base the NVA initiated an assault starting with a mortar attack across the base then launching a direct assault on the perimeter defenses the brunt of the attack was concentrated on the Bunker's Men by the third platoon sensing movement in the concertina wire below the bunker they responded by raining down four cases of grenades on the enemy coming up the hill Philip joined the battle unleashing a hell of M60 rounds upon the enemy effectively repelling their assault this initial encounter was a forewarning of the treacherous month that lay ahead for the gunfighters and what would be a deadly month of May adjacent to LZ Center loomed Hill 352 and the new Hawk Ridge the NVA had strategically fortified the hilltop with a network of bunkers and two anti-aircraft guns firmly establishing defensive positions previous attempts by various units to seize the hill had proven unsuccessful on May 14th the gunfighters received orders to eliminate the enemy presence and destroy their fortified positions as the company commenced their Ascent up the treacherous Hill the NVA launched a fierce assault from their well-fortified bunkers effectively pinning down the advancing unit recognizing the gravity of the situation Sergeant finnis McCleary from first platoon boldly Rose to his feet and fearlessly sprinted across 60 meters of open ground like that and then all sudden this boot was right by my face it was Mac and you know he was just a few feet from me so let's go and we just instantly got up I mean no thinking about it I think back on this I get some very nervous about it because seconds ago if I would have done I would have been killed but it just happened and then Matt goes over this way and he starts firing up there and all of a sudden they look like they turned their attention towards him that that he a few seconds that gave us the opportunity to return fire and we really shot it we really threw a lot of ammo at him and so we focused on Mac and we start you know he goes from one hole to the next and we're we're trying to keep fire ahead of him and by the time we got to the top he had knocked off like I think three fire three uh machine guns upon successfully capturing the initial bunker he climbed the top and shouted to his men follow me on that day third platoon provided support as Philip and his fellow machine Gunners Unleashed a Relentless barrage of fire to cover the main assault which eventually destroyed the enemy stronghold Sergeant Dennis McCleary from Stevensville Texas was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions and he got up there and he started firing these guys and he just said come on let's go and I mean that was it I mean we were getting up when he was going up there but when he got up and said go we started running up there then I mean everybody I mean they're passing me up everybody was running out there so he really got everybody going throughout the entirety of May the gunfighters found themselves locked in a Relentless battle against the NVA and Viet Cong forces however with a mere three months remaining in his tour Philip's thoughts increasingly turned towards home and the new car he planned to purchase with the savings he was setting aside most of his friends were gone now either killed or wounded and the company was only a shell of its former self but he felt luck was on his side having been in all the units significant engagements and having sustained only a minor flesh wound thus far Philip found himself growing more confident each passing day that the odds were in his favor to be reunited with his family once again May 24th dawn like any other morning in Vietnam the stifling humidity nearing 100 percent while the temperature had already soared into the mid 90s continuing their patrols between LZ Center and pemke the three platoons divided their paths with third platoon veering toward the East led by Philip walking Point Jerry titwood was acting squad leader providing support to Philip as they navigated through the terrain close behind them trailed Robert Hayden and Russell mccockey with the remainder of the squad following closely in reserve in the distance off to their West they could hear first platoon engage in a firefight which only heightened their awareness with heightened vigilance Philip led the way as the squad cautiously proceeded down a narrow Trail flanked by dense vegetation on both sides after advancing approximately 50 meters along the trail an unseen NVA unit suddenly Unleashed a hell of gunfire upon the squad in the initial burst of enemy fire Philip Turner Jerry Chitwood Robert Hayden and Russell mcculkey tragically lost their lives while three others suffered wounds the squad retaliated with a fierce exchange of gunfire but the ever elusive NVA swiftly vanished into the jungle evading the gunfire from the platoon it was a peaceful Sunday morning in Jackson Georgia the Turner family gathered around the table visiting and enjoying their breakfast from the table they saw a car topping the hill that led down a long dirt road to their home as the vehicle Drew closer they could see the military insignia on the driver's door evoking a sense of dread as Mr and Miss Turner looked at one another instructing his family to stay seated in a lump in his throat Mr Turner made his way to the front door preparing to meet the officials following a brief conversation he somberly returned to the table and delivered the news that Philip was missing in action we lived on a long dirt road at the end of a long dirt road and we saw a an unmarked car and we could tell it was their army green and we were having breakfast that morning it was a Sunday morning and the car you know started coming down the long driveway and you could just look at my mom's face and she knew something was wrong I think he was a Corporal that came and I do remember the chaplain was with him and he was a Turner and so they introduce themselves and they told us that he was missing in that they came every day and stayed all day long with us the chaplain did and he stayed there for the first two days and I do remember them saying don't tell anybody you can't talk about it because they didn't know the Army didn't know where he was they didn't know if he was a prison or War he was just reported as missing in action so didn't really know anything but I just know that you know it was very tense very quiet very tense around our house on Tuesday Morning the family went about their usual chores anticipating the arrival of chaplain Turner as he had done the two previous days as the car slowly made its way down the long dirt road Miss Turner busied herself in the kitchen while Mr turn agreed to the chaplain at the door after a short conversation he closed the door entered the kitchen and Tenderly took his wife by the hand guiding her to the adjacent room he broke the heartbreaking news Philip would not be returning home alive Dear Mama how's everybody doing okay I'm doing pretty good the weather here is raining all the time I finally got a change of fatigues today after 23 days of wearing the same ones it isn't too bad over here at night it gets pretty scary but during the day it's just about like being in the states just about that is I got a letter from Claudette and Robbie last week and I got a letter from Gene yesterday she sent me a picture of Patty it looks just like her I also got the letters with the picture of the kids and got the letter with Sydney's picture on it how was Thanksgiving there we had turkey and dressing in the field yesterday it was pretty good too it was the first hot meal we had had in three weeks they had been stuffing us with C rations and I had really gotten tired of them I guess it beat Starvin though the other night I was on guard and the dog ran in front of my Foxhole it scared the daylight out of me I shot him and he started howling but we had to go out there and shoot it again anything over here scares you at night after get used to it doesn't bother you too bad before I close I have something more to say if you do send some peanuts and pecans how about putting some writing paper and envelopes in it I can't hardly find any over here we haven't been anywhere to buy any yet I've got to close and get this in the mail so right when you can and see y'all in about eight months and 20 days P.S the name of the place I am now is Tam key and it's 20 miles south of Danang and P.S tell Crockett and the rest of the kids I said hello Love Philip [Music] in a meter freezes [Music] in that Cemetery song [Music] saying that Cemetery song from the mountains [Music] with the river [Music]

Channel: True Stories from the Vietnam War

Views: 117,220

Keywords: history channel, military history, soldiers, united states, us army, us military, veterans, vietnam veteran, vietnam war, vietnam war documentary, vietnam war footage, vietnam war stories, vietnam war story

Id: NU7kPUK3tvs

Length: 32min 54sec (1974 seconds)

Published: Fri May 26 2023