Early Life and Career
Richmond Turner was born in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 1885, to Enoch and Laura Francis (née Kelly) Turner. His father alternated between being a rancher and farmer, and working as a printer in both Portland (for The Oregonian with his older brother Thomas) and Stockton, California (where he owned a small print shop). Young Richmond would spend most of his childhood in and around Stockton, with a brief stop in Santa Ana, and graduating from Stockton High School in 1904.
He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy from California's sixth district, his name put forward by Congressman James Carion Needham, in 1904. He graduated on 5 June 1908 and served in several ships over the next four years.
On 3 August 1910, he married Harriet "Hattie" Sterling in Stockton.
In 1913, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Turner briefly held command of the destroyer USS Stewart. After receiving instruction in ordnance engineering and service on board the gunboat Marietta, he was assigned to the battleships Pennsylvania, Michigan and Mississippi during 1916-19. From 1919 to 1922, Lieutenant Commander Turner was an Ordnance Officer at the Naval Gun Factory in Washington, D.C. He then was Gunnery Officer of the battleship California, Fleet Gunnery Officer on the Staff of Commander Scouting Fleet and Commanding Officer of the destroyer Mervine.
Following promotion to the rank of Commander in 1925, Turner served with the Bureau of Ordnance at the Navy Department. In 1927, he received flight training at Pensacola, Florida, was designated as a Naval Aviator, and a year later became Commanding Officer of the seaplane tender Jason and Commander, Aircraft Squadrons, Asiatic Fleet. He had further aviation-related assignments into the 1930s and was Executive Officer of the aircraft carrier Saratoga in 1933-34. Captain Turner attended the Naval War College and served on that institution's staff in 1935-38 as head of the Strategy faculty.
Turner's final field command was the heavy cruiser Astoria, on a diplomatic mission to Japan in 1939.
Turner was Director of War Plans in Washington, D.C., in 1940-41 and was promoted to Rear Admiral late in 1941.
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