Lieutenant William Turner
Lieutenant William Turner
Lt William (Bill) M. Turner, a former teacher and mail carrier for Canada Post, served with The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. He was born in Toronto on 13 April 1961 and grew up in Elmvale, a town an hour's drive north of Toronto.
In 1982, he graduated from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario with a B.Sc. Lt Turner remained in Ontario working at the University of Guelph as a research assistant and completing a degree in education with a focus on biology and physical education.
Lt Turner enlisted with the Canadian Armed Forces reserves in 1991, joining the 11th Field Regiment Reserve. In 1993, he was promoted to lieutenant. He transferred to the Edmonton-based 20th Field Regiment RCA, a Primary Reserve field artillery unit in 1996 where he joined the Land Force Western Area Headquarters. And while living in Edmonton, he worked as a mail carrier for Canada Post.
He was posted to Afghanistan in March 2006, Lt Turner served as a Civilian-Military Co-operation officer, working as a liaison between the Canadian Armed Forces and village elders and leaders.
Writing in the Globe and Mail newspaper, Christie Blatchford, who met Lt Turner while working as a war correspondent, described Lt Turner as "joyful, curious and excited." She wrote that there in the middle of the Afghan war, Lt Turner expressed curiosity about the native flowers and trees, asking an interpreter for their names.
Lt Turner died 22 April 2006, just eight days after his 45th birthday, alongside three other Canadian soldiers — Cpl. Matthew Dinning, Bombardier Myles Mansell and Cpl. Randy Payne — when a roadside bomb detonated next to their lightly armoured troop transport, a G Wagon.
The four soldiers were returning to the Kandahar Air Field in a four-vehicle convoy after meeting with elders at Pada village in the Shah Wali Kot district, north of Kandahar.
Lt Turner earned the respect of his peers and his commanding officers for his easy-going nature, his athleticism (Lt Turner had a love for running marathons and bike racing) and his charm.
He once joked with a Canadian Press reporter that he was "one of the old guys" and "easily the weakest link in this group," but surrounded by young soldiers, he added that he was "well protected" and "well looked after."