The Early Years
(12 Jul 1921 -
27 Jan 1942)
Army Air Forces
(28 Jan 1942 -
1 Aug 1943)
Post Ploesti
(2 Aug 1943 -
Present)
Official MOH Citations:
Lt. Turney W. Leonard
(Turney White Leonard - 18 Jun 1921 - 6 Nov 1944)
Seven Texas Aggie Medal of Honor Recipients
Lt. Turney White Leonard was one of the seven men who had attended or graduated from Texas A&M University and who received the Medal of Honor in World War II. Every new Texas A&M cadet must learn their names. They are honored in the Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center and the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University, College Station, Brazos County, Texas, USA.
The seven Texas Aggie Medal of Honor recipients are Hughes, Fowler, Keathley, Carswell, Leonard, Whiteley and Harrell.
|
|
Turney White Leonard was the son of Ernest E. Leonard, Sr. and Lily V. Bell. Born on 18 Jun 1921 in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, USA. Graduated from Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (later Texas A&M University) in 1942. Joined the U.S. Army. Earned the Medal of Honor for his actions at Kommerscheidt, Germany on 4, 5, and 6 Nov 1944. Killed in action on 6 Nov 1944. His body was recovered and identified in 1950. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor was presented to his mother on 19 Oct 1945 by Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, USA.
|
 © David N. Lotz My thanks to David for permission to use his photograph. |
Buried in Grove Hill Memorial Park, Dallas, Dallas
County, Texas, USA. Inscription on grave marker:
TURNEY WHITE LEONARD
|
|
Honored on 1
Mar 1969 with the renaming of a Texas A&M University dormitory to Turney W. Leonard
Hall.
|
|
 LT. TURNEY W. LEONARD '42
|
Honored on 27 Feb 1993 with the unveiling of a bas relief bronze plaque
in the
Corps of Cadets Center
at Texas A&M University, in College
Station, Brazos County, Texas, USA.
|
|
Turney White Leonard's Aggie Ring was returned to Texas A&M in a
ceremony on 11 Nov 2000 by a German Army officer whose father-in-law
found the ring in the Huertgen Forest in 1945.
Turney White Leonard's family donated both his Medal of Honor and his Aggie Ring to the Corps of Cadets Center at Texas A&M University and are currently on display there.
|
Sources:
- Ancestry.com
- Find A Grave - Leonard's Memorial
- Handbook of Texas Online
- Medal of Honor Citations
- Texas State Cemetery
- Texas A&M University Archives
- James R. Woodall, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)
First published: October 8, 2008
Last updated: September 01, 2011
