Troy



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// World War II POW, Sub Remembered // // By Kevin Copeland // ~Marion “Turk” Turner survived 3.5 years in a Japanese POW camp during WWII ~He enlisted in the Navy 10-12-1939 and decided to be an Electrician’s mate on submarines ~on March 1, 1942 the sub he was on (Perch) was attacked by Japanese destroyers ~the sub was forced to submerge to 135 feet due to depth charges being used ~The sub was hit several times but Turner and the rest of the crew were able to repair the damage ~The sub resurfaced the next morning and was attacked again forcing them to submerge again ~the enemy thought they had finished off the sub and went in search of something else to destroy ~The sub resurfaced and repairs were made ~on a dive to test the repairs and make sure they would hold the sub had to resurface ~during this resurface the sub was again attacked by 5 different enemy ships at once ~The commanding officer ordered the men off the ship and then scuttled the sub ~Turner helped the captain survive the attack, even after the captain told him to leave him and save himself ~all 60 officers and all the enlisted sailors survived the day, six later died in POW camps; the rest were sent home eventually ~Turner survived beatings, starvation, and tropical diseases as a POW ~he was returned to the US on 10-17-1945 ~he remained in the Navy until he retired 12-1-1959 ~he earned a purple heart and Korean Service Medal for his service during WWII