The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-07-11
Visits keokuk for the First Time Since
His Return from Fierce Fighting
in France with American
Army.
THE HERO OF FIsMETTE
Cited a Number Of Times for Gallant
Action, the Only Story He viii
Tell Is His Emulation Of
Ty Cobb.

Lieutenant Ben d. Turner, with
machine gun wounds, citations galore,
American papers and magazines all
telling Of his heroism at Fismette, who
enlisted as private and was dis
charged first lieutenant after having
all the bad luck possible in an unlucky
division, came from his Kahoka home
to Keokuk for the first time yesterday
afternoon.
! 1t looked like he would make q good
newspaper story-and the only story
quality in anything he said was lis
proud emulation of Ty Cobb.
1 When he got two machine gun
wounds. one in the foot and one in
the thigh, as he was hurrying toward
the American trenches, he was hurled
to the ground.
Il just made as pretty slide as Ty
Cobb ever did," he said, "and as !
went over into the American trench
the company comedian yelled:
Safe, but close decision"
Four Months Under Shell Fire.
He and his men were under shell
fire continually from July 8, to Nov.
ember IL, except six days when they
were moving to another front to get
the shells from some different Hun
artillery.
/ He enlisted early in 1917, as soon as
we declared war, as private, and
went across the Atlantic soon after as
sergeant. He enlisted in the Mis-.
souri, national guard as the surest and
quickest way to reach the fighting
line, and went over with the 35th
division.
| Soon after reaching France, he was
commissioned second Lieutenant, I'D
after that little incident at Fismette
about which he would not talk yester.
| day, and which was printed a.. over
! America, he was recommended fer
promotion to first lieutenant His
commission was delayed by the neces
/ sity for physical examination, and
this was delayed for
Promotions Overlapped.
when the order came to report for
the physical examination, was UP
| front, and wasn't going to leave that
real fighting to go back for any physi
cal examination" he said yesterday
! But they finally got him back to the
surgeon for day. Then G. H. @. dis
! covered that figure was missing in
blank in the papers, and it took q
month or two to get them back to his
company commander to supply that
! figure in his age.
| The first wound he got was through
the arm at that same Fismette, sew
eral weeks before the incident that
made him famous. He was recon-
mended flor promotion at that time
but he had done the big stunt and was
recommended and cited again, before
the general headquarters could com
mission him. and it was on the second
Recommendation that he was made
| first lieutenant.
Fightina Three Machine Guns.
| At Fismette he ordered his men back
over a little river when they found
the town full of Huns, and then
Turner took position in house, fired
through all the windows In turn,
bluffed the Huns, and held at bay an
entire German division until re-
endorsements could get to him.
The time he got the two last
wounds, he and two other men were
going after a Hun machine gun when
they were fired upon by two other
machine guns on their flanks.
They staid until they had des-
troyed the one they had gone after and
then started back for their own lines
ending with a slide into the American
trenches a la Ty Cobb, which seems to
be the only thing Lieutenant Turner
is really vain about IN his army
career.
Has Wide Acquaintance.
Lieutenant Turner is well known all
over Clark county and has friends in
Keokuk. He was receiver for the
Alexandria bank for awhile Where
ever he lives he is popular.
He was formerly student OF Knox
college and the University OF Mis-.
souri,, and there was member vi
n; active in MANY