Fallen Hero

8/4/2019 Fallen Hero

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II THE LIFE AND TIMES OFA FALLEN HERO II

AUTOBIOGRAPEYY:HARRY EAGENE TURNER


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Harry EugeneTumer@ecerntrer 8, 1946- ) theW an


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":l -ry!1"1 9ll$1ll llglgfg.+4 4!'*grmsr:!s, url ihos.orstart'inkins vbothofthern ed to trguments,and argurnentsed to fghts, andthe fights led to beatings.MaryLynn at only live tbet tall and a sma[ Aame ook manVbeatinBiom Johnny Andersonwho was himself nseoure. Seeinghis motherbeatenblack and biue hud Harry Eugenewho was now aboul 10 or 11 ycrusold, and it madehim swoarhs would novorhit aw'omanwhen t wouldbe oasiero just leaveher.

Thepainthatyoung Iarry Eugene aw and elt in theviolencebetween is motherandstepfather ause.domep,roblemsor hirn, first he startedplayinghoolcy rom sohooltwo or three imesa week, and sinceJohnnyAndersonwasa feservepolicemanhe hadagunthat IIarry Eugenebeganplayingwith when his motherwasaway or he did not go toschool, he would load andunload he guq andpoint it at Johnnyspictureon top of thetelevision et,and stareat i! and he himselflived n fearofhis stepfather.

Mruy Lynru rom a lclephonceallfrom thc sohool learned hal IIarry Eugenohadbeenmissingdays rom schoolandalsoshenoticed hat thepistol had been amperedwithall in the sameday, also hat dayshs ealizedhatsheneededhelp. He$ from her habitualdrinking, help from a second ailed marriage, and most important o her, help for heryormg son. The noxtday shccalled or help from her fatnib in Texa's, he hadno othsrplace o ask or it, ShehadsentFlarr.vEugeneo the best schoolsn Arizonabolh publicandprivateschools,hadenrolledhim in schools o erhancehis artisticabilitiesn dance,ar! music,and culhre, but she stiii felt sheneeded elp andher family was he onlyplaceshekncw to tum to.

Within one wee\ Mary Lynn's oldestbrother, Iarry Gtynn Championwas thereand uponseeinghe scares nhis sister rom Johnnys eatings ndabuse, nd hcw shehadbooome,he threatenedo kill JohnnyAndersonamidpleas rom his sister t4arj' Lynn notto do it, Harry Gtynnrefrained, but he took his young twelveyear old nephew romArizonaand askedhis sister o accompany im backto Texas, she declinedandsaid shewogld retumin a tbw months.

Nine weeks atcr Harry Eugenewas enroiledas a student n Norris School inCornmoroe, cxas. Texaswasa ohangtrmdohiillongci.r him beoausc e hadgnrwn upin a integratedworld in Arizon4 going o integrated rfuateandpublicschoolsand hing inintegratedparts of the city. Texas was segregatiorqnstitutionalized egregationhat attwelve he could not at the time understan4 at fint he was unhappybecauseof theseparationrom his motherand he wasconcEmed borrthow shewa.s oing n Arizona.


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this was oneof themost rlifficult times of his life. His grandfather,Harry ChampionSr.and the schoolhe attended elpedhim getover this noubling time andplayeda importantpart because rom his ggandtbther e leamed rv observinghim many good thinp thatmoideci ris character.First of aii irisgran


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By mid-semester f the 9th gladeHanv Ergenewas on spoiledkid, he wa.susmotheruonly child, and the first of the grandchild. And he was spoiled rotten by hisuncles, aunts and cousirs, and grandparents.At schoolhe was even spoiledmore, aunole,a aunt a cousiq and ather aught hereso he was a popularboy wittr many riends.a siar brukoibalipiayer,head of iris class, rmd because f the oharm cIl by his laiher hewas the athaotionof manygirls at school. IIe had no problems, hs did not drinli orsmoke, ie or steat He had no problerns tall.

Approaching is mid-teen's lary EugeneTumer was a herq he wasBlessedbyGod. For 4yearsnothingbutgoodcame o him in every hinghe attmptedo do.

At l8 years old he was from hi.gh school with high honon,Valedicrorian f hisclass,Captainof a StateChampionshipsasketballeanu he wasbothpersonable,ikable,and ntelligent. His faults weremainly hathe hatedpeopledrank,andhatcd drunks, begause E sawwhal nlcohol did to his mother. And ho ditl not oarE


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maq at 18 nearly 19, to be a man diferent from his falher who did not raisehim, but likehisgrandfalherwho did. I{arry Eugeneand Mary Hill were and are about ts oppositeasyou canget,they oame rom diterent types of homes,difttrent bolietl, ditlbrent triends,different ikes and taste. The onb thing that drew tfteso wo oppositesogether s that hewru dilloront, dilforenl from other boys. :md shc was diffErcn! rom othcrgirls in ftal helilie her couldbe tnstod to be sincere.

Thefrst child wasbom firr monthsafterFlarr,' Eugene's raduation nd n Mary/sJunioryear. AttendingJr. College or oneyearand E.T.S.U. for one and one-halfyearsHarry Eugenedecided o tnke off ooeyearto help, Mary who ha


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I? THE LIFE AND TIMES OFA FALLEN HERO /'PART II

AUTOBIOGRAPIIYBY:EANRY EAGENE TARNER


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FIarryEugeneTurner (December28,1946- ) The tft andnmesof a allen Hero pt2HarryEugeneTurnerat 18yearsolci Harry EugeneTumergraduatedrom Norris High School n Nday f 1964with high honors, one week ater he was hirteenhrmdredmiles away o Globe,Arizona.His rnotherMary Lyruraud stepfather ollury Aldersot had come o Texas or thefusorugraduation, and tbey had also c,om o take him back to Arizona becausehe hada yourlg 17yearold girl mme.dMary llill. Who at that time they did notknow.but did know abouther auntsand family and the reputation heyhad for drintingandpartying and hey felt this girl wasnot suitable or their son, or even f the baby washis. tsut as it always happens, young love is very stronpg nd whon parents ry toseparateeenageove it only draws hem closer ogether.FIarry Eugene wrote Mary Hill wery week and every week she retumed hisletters,and ove. As a reward andpresent or gra.duation is parenlsboughrhim a blackand white 196l pontiac tempest. And hoped tlat it would saiisfr and keep him i1Arimna, he was ntroduced o otherpeopleand families hoping that time would eraseall memoriesand home sickness for Texas and \,Iary Hill. But in this case absencedoes make the heart growfonder' iastsad of ' out of sight out of mind' as was lheintendedoase.So, after being in Arizonafor onemcmth, and with less han fifty dollars in hispocketand a full tank of gas. Harry Eugenoone Wednesday morning around eight,went to theCou[try Club where his mother worled and with sorrow in his heart old bismothcr hc wasgoingback to Tcxas, At thc timc hc did not rcalizc how much this hurtMar-yLynn because hehad not beenaroundhim since he was elevenor twelve. all histeen'ars had been spil in Texasand now sho warfod to know her son who had

ustgraduatedrom high schoolandwasabout o becomea manAl eighteen and believiag he rvas grown and could make his own decisions,I{arry Eugenesaidgood-by o a mother who loved him more than anything else in theworld. With Xearsn her eyes aod sadnessn her heart she watchedher only sondriveawayand out ofsight.AII thal day wa"s penl driving, the only stopshe madewa.s or ga.s, nd try nightfall he lrad made he Texasbordor, s wasn't until two il the momilg that he pulled tothe side of the roadat a roadsidepark that he got some est and then only for about wohoursthen he was on the road again. Loaving Airzrrnahe bad calculated hat he hadonoughgasand money or thirteenhundredand fifty miles, the distance rom Globe toCommercewas around hirteen hundredbut because e was noxperionced t driving iacity traftic he took the loop aroundDallas and !1. Worth and came hroughMcKinnev,Texas. Wherehe ran low on gasand realizedhe could not make he additioml fody-fivemiles. At a servicestationhepawnedhis Timex watch for five gallonsof gasoline,wirhthat he made t to Commerce.The thought of seeingMary Hill madehim drive fasler the closerhe got and ilfilled his heart with joy andanlicipatioa. He had not eate.n bite or had a bath for fwodays zrnl all he could think about wasMary Hill, in faut when he arrivcd in the citylimits of Commerce, eforegoing o his grandparentsou.se e went to the home of MaryHill. The astpersonhe had seenw'ashis mother ldary Lynn and he uextperson 'as hisgirlfriend Mary Hill.


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His molher had called ftom Arizona and told his grandparents nd relatives hewas on his way, shehad thought about having the Highway Patrol stop him bnt decidedagainst [ ;urd only hopetl that he mtule it sefely without tmy problcmsor car lroublc.The summerof 64' was a definite change or Harry F,ugene-From July thru August heworked at the RosemountCemeterymowinggraves or twenty-seven ollars a week, hokept soven or himself and gaveMary Hill twenty dollars a week for paymenton thedclivcry bill that wastwo-hundrcd dollars and also to buy diapcrs, bottlos, and othorbaby needs.The hot Texas lmmer nigh*, every nigh! was spef,twilh Mary Hill sitting onthe porchof her awrts house on JobnsonSheet talking about he future and what ttreynanted their lives to be like. Then summerendedand t nas time to goto College. Lifein Cisco was tlarry Eugene's irst real experienceat being on his own, but still atmosteveryweeke.nd e would drive thetwo-hrmdre.d iles home, so often bat his grandfatherbegan o worry about he wearand ear on his car. And he hatedwhen Sundayeveningscamebecause e had o leave Commerceor Cisco anclMonday momingcla.sses.

Ou October31,1964 he first souwasbom and }larry EugetewantedhirrnamedChristopherEugene,and he was, IIarry Eugenewas n Cisco when Cbristopherwas bom at the Wintemute Ilospital in Klondike, Texas. IIe was told about it by atelephonecall from his grandparents nd on the very next weokendFIarryEugeno sawhis son or the first timeAt the end of the semester larry Bugene had written Norman Pilgrim, theE.T.S.U. Basketballcoachabout he possibilityof attendingandplaying for the Collegein Commerce,coachPilgrim gavehim a scholaf,shipnd he next semesterHarry Eugenewas n Commerce,and closer o Mary Hill. The semester nded and Christopherwasthepride and oy ofFlarry Eugene, hewould ridehim around own proppedup in his carand showing him off, oddly though, Christopherwould cry every time Harry Eugenewould come ncarhim or atlcmpt 1ehold him. The next schoolyearbecause f a lack ofinterest n school,and ack ofmotivation, Harry F.ugene id not retum o college. insteadhe obtaineda ob with the TexasPower and Light Co. cheokingand treathg poleswithhis two uncles Chesterand Thomas Jactson for a period of tbree months. Then heroturncd o collcgc for onc morc scmcstcr,and hatwouldbc his last.On January 10, 1966, I{arry Eugeneand Mary Hill were maffied al the HufiCounty Courthouse n Groenvillo, Texas by the Justice of the peace. Allie MaeChampionand MarthaHill, Mary Hills twin sisterwere he witness'. and becauseFlarryEugenewasonly nineteenandyouhad to be twenfy-oneo maf,ry, Allie Mae Championsignedas his motler. FIarryEugenebroughihis new bride home o iive with him in thehouseof his grandparentsn FayeStreet, His grandmotherwas n New York at the timeand thefe was some reluctanceon rhe part of his grandfather o do this but he finallyconsented, and immediately ell in love with his granelsonsew wife beea.usehekepttlre housecleauaud cookedaud showedevoryone hat slrc was ndeeda very good wifeand mother.On October 24, 1966, larry' EugeneandMary's secondsonwas bonr, and hisaunt Martha wanled him named Dominic, and he was. Mary went inlo labor on aSaturdaynieht andaboui ,r'o o'clock Suridaymoming Dominic Turner was bom at theCommerceCeneralHospital on Moffoe street n Commorce, to have two son's wasindeedaproud hing for FIarryEugene, andafterDominic's birth Harry Eugene ventand


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told his grandfathet Daddy, Dadfu ! Mary ust hadanother boy! " iris grandfarher iilihalf asleepbecausot waspast wo o'clock in the moming ust said "Huh ? un Huh? "and eil backasleep.In Febnraryof 1967,Ilarry Eugenobeganworking in the ship,ping ept. of theAmoriqm Wood Corporalion n Commoroe, his wa:lhis fusl slcaly irnd real ob and heworked there for about four months and was fired becausehe did not want to workSaturdays.After that ob }Iarry Eugene's oxt employmontwas in Groenvillo, Tcxas atwhat was then called Temco, now called E-Systems. He worked there from 1966 to1969. During the winter of 1966 Hary Eugene and Mary moved out of hisgrandparonts ome and into a one bedroom rent house on Sibley street, today it isLaura'sBeautyshopand his was heir first realhome ogether,he workod n Greenville,and Mary had first worked n Mac's Cafe waiting tables n downtown Commerce, andthen she washedand shampooedhait 6t ftgffis PiuoketsBarber shop in downtownCommerce,

On October 16, 1967 he third son of llarry Eugeneand Mary was bom and hewas namedCory by his molher Mary, Harry Erenehad eft goingto work thal morningard Mary was uot feelingwell whe[ lre leff, audshortly thereafterwent hto lalrcr, andllarry Eugene's randfatheror the second ime took her to the hospital o deliver a childwhon Ilarry Eugenecame homs at five o'olockafter work, he was the falher of threesotrs. In 1968, Harry and lvlary Turner moved around le comer into what is norvKerry 'l aylorshouse,and he flewly maried Harl and Martha Championmoved nto theirold place. Harry Eugeneand Mary and heir threeson's ived there or oneyear.During this year, t was a troublesome ndgood ime in the Truner home. Theyhad no moaeyor anythingofreal value, they arguedand ouglrt almosteveryother veek,FIarry Eugenedrank, and drant and drank, and drank, and drank, and drank somemore. They hadpartiesandwent to parties,everyoneentertainedon the weekendandoverything was dono[o excess md ovcrintlulgence.But thcy m:ruagedo s{ay ogether,and try andmake it in life togetheras a married couple- Mary felt Harry Eugenewasirresponsiblewith rlroneyand wastedt on rtninrportanthings. Ilarry Eugenesimply felthe was misrurderstood.1969 brought a changc for Hany andN{ary Tumcr and thcir thrcc sons, firstHarry Eugenewas laid o{l hom Temco aod on advise iom his grandfbtherapplied fbrandgot a job in Commerce ess lan half a mile away from home at a mobile homomanufacturingplant called trdanatee omes,building house railers, this job he had foreighteenyears, rom 69 to 87. Mary Turner had beganworking for Lei-ter Dress Co.with her aunt Tit-tat at fust and later alone as a supervisor. Second, hey had a smallhousebuilt next to Harry Eugene'sgandparentshouseon some and they bought fromIlarry Glynn Champion or ten dollars. So wirhjobs arld a home he Tumer family wasbeginning o improve' Orr August 29, l97l the first arrd or y daughterwas bom to I{any and fvlaryTumer, shewasnamed TerraCamille Tumer by her mother. Cemille wasborn around6:00 on a Sundayaftemoonand she wasthe pride of llaxr)' Eugeneand Mary', Ilary'Eugenewas glad it was a girl becausehe knew that Mary wanted a daugbter, theyalreadyhad hree son's o a babygirl ',r'ould it right in n'ith the family.


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Of the four Turner children, Tena Cemille Turner and Dominic Tumer wereboth bom on a Sunday,Dominic around wo in the moming and TerraCamille aroundsix in lhe allernoon. On thc day shc was born, furry Eugenecelobraled ho birth of hisbaby girl by going to ladonia, Texas and buying some iquor and beer, and was soexcited he alnrostwreckedhis car, ChristopherEugeneTurner and Cory Turner werebom on weekdays. Tena Camille is the last child bom to Harr"vEugeneand MaryTumcr. The Tumer familv by 1970 had began to appear as a f'amily in NorrisCommrnity but therewere many hingswrong with this family, frst they had no moneyand lived from weekto week, from paychecko paycheck. Also they had no God intheir lives, in their family. And thatprobablynas the reason or mostof their troubles.In 1970 vfary Lynn,flarry Eugene'smother had movedbaok o Texas from NewYork and Connec.ticut.Sheopenedup a cafe a Charlie Smithsold $ore oo Rossstreertfor teenagersand young people to come and dance. She sold fish and Chickensandwiches nd t wa.s popularplace or Norrisyouthto comeon a.Weekendafternoon.Slre also saw her first husbandand ove of her life in 1970or 71, when Waneu TerryTurner who was n Hunt county or other reasons ameby llarry and Mary's home. MaryTurnerwentnext door to getMary Lynn and t was he first time in over wentyyeaxs hehad seenhim. WarrenTerry Tumer seemed little bit uneasy, and more so when MaryLynn askedhim whatwent lvrong so manyyearsago. She was ntoxicated andWarrea'l'erry'l'umer had to help her otT he stepto gethome next door where she was living.But shehad inally seen"Terry" after all thoseyears,and shewasglad.Mary Lfnns love began o show oward Mary Hill Tumer and she oved her as adaughter n law and said someof the ttrings shehadheardabout her were not true. AlsoMary Lynn embracedher grandchildrenandespeciallyLoved TerraCamille Tumer, shebought things for her and showedher off to her friends. Thore was a special boodbctweenMary Lynn eurdTorra Cunille, who less han two yearsold al that time has noremembrance f.In the spring of 1973, Mary Lynn became ll, and she slipped into a semi-unconscious tale ying in bed with her back archedunable o talk or respond. Shewastakcnto Scylcr Clinic on Bonham strcct in Commcrccbut thcrc was nothing that cliniccould do f'or her, so sbewasbrought back home, one andone-half days ater sheregainedsomemotor skills but she wasgroggyand could not recognizohor own son atfirst, and she was confixed about time. and unable to walk without stumbling. IvlaryLynn'sparentsand Brother larry Glym arrdA:rna Ruth Champion decided o take her toSt. Joseph'sHospital n Paris, Texas, I{arry Eugenehadno ideatharwould be the lasttime hewould seehis mother alive. Shedied in St. Joseph's ospital n Paris,Texasas aresult of a brain Stroke, And lhe fallen Hero Har:y Eugenehadnow reached ockbottom.It wzx then that things n llarry Eugcnc's lifc bcgan to chzr:ngo, c saw for thcfirst time in his life his own mortali$, and hal God s real and o be Worshipped.Hehad believed fu God all his life but never given God any of his service. Duriug tliesummerof 1973 larry Eugenebegan o read heBible startingat Genesis nd would readtcn chaptus a day until hc had rcad thc cntirc Biblc, but aftcr rcadingfor months hcrealizedhe knew what it said but not what it all meant, so lirther and closerstudy wasneededand by the GraceofGod llarry Eugene ealizedwhat God wanted or his life and


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for hi''' 1s 6. and he spiritually sawhow it was God and God alone hatbeenwith him allof his days and what God now wantedhim to do, and he beliwed in God's Word andknew what he was supposedo do and where.And the fallen Hero liarry Eugenewas onhis way back.The 1970'ssawa diffcront personalityand tih:uar,ter o llarry Eugene, hc harlstartedgoing o Church egularly and becamea llsher for manyyearsbefore becomingateacher rr the Srurday chool. His family, his sons,daughtorand wife during this timealso attendedChurch and hey all becamehiglly respected nd iked membersn NorrisCommunity.But morc importantly thcy v,,'crc ll Blcsscd, thoy hadno moncy, but thoywerenot broke, nevethad alot of I'ood,but they were nover eallyhungry. neverbad aoyof the things otherpooplehadbut they still made t because f GodsGraceand he Lovetheyhadasa family.When Harry EugeneTumer was 33 yearsold he then realizedthat fu hadblessed him and his house, wilhout a doubt he knew and believed this through aawakeingof his Spirit, aodhe also ealize.dhatGod had blessedandsavedhis life many

times before, the first time was whenhe was n Cisco, Texas, The second ime was n1968 n a car wreck that should havekilled him, the third was a.motorcycleaccident n1972 hat very possiblec.ouldhave been tlre erd for hi r. But God spaled dru, audhelpedhim on a daily basis. Aad had been helping him all his life from birth to thepresenthour God hasbeenaprotector or him and his family.Today larry EugeneTumer is a very unhappyman. Unhappywith himself andwith the waycertain hings have urned ou! and n a realsense e is alsovery bitter andresentfulbecause e knowshow peoplehavemade ife tbr themselveshard becauseheydon't listen to the voice of God and sound reasonings,especially when t come to hisChildren. So today he saysnothing but he doescarry the pain from dayto day, but thenagain no otre c:rres, or givesa shil, trot his kids wife or atryone, only Gods knows, andonly Godsreally cares o the point it makesa difference. So, the Fallen Hero HarryEugene s still a fallen hero to everyonebut the ore thatmatters he most, the only onewho will listen, and hat ono s theatnighty andEternal God.

Fallen Hero

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