Daniel Norman Turner was born in 1921 to Daniel M. and Joanna C. Turner, who lived on Lancaster Avenue in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. His father was from Pennsylvania; his mother was from New York. He was a World War I Veteran, and worked as an engineer.

Daniel was the oldest of four children: Daniel, William C., James V. and sister, Joanna S.

Daniel attended the Episcopal Academy, located in Merion along the “Main Line”.

Daniel enlisted in the Coast Guard in September 1940. After basic training he was assigned to the USS Wakefield AP-21. The Wakefield was a troop transport manned by the Coast Guard. The ship was constructed as the SS Manhattan, queen of the United States Lines. Many cruise ships were constructed with federal subsidies for design so that they could be quickly converted to troop ships in time of a National Emergency.

The SS Manhattan was pressed into service to bring American civilians home from Europe at the beginning of World War II. She was then chartered for a 2 year period and converted to serve as a troopship, renamed for use as the Wakefield (Wakefield was the Birthplace of George Washington.) The Wakefield was commissioned in the Coast Guard on June 15, 1941.

The ship was painted grey, anti-aircraft guns, depth charges, and a degaussing system (to reduce the magnetic signature of the hull) were added and the ornamentation and plush services were removed to allow substantially more passengers (troops).

In early July, Daniel’s ship sailed from New York to North Carolina for extensive amphibious training. Later that month she sailed to Halifax to take on board 6,000 British troops to transport them to Cape Town, South Africa. Arriving on December 8th, the day after the Pearl Harbor attack, the Wakefield was rerouted to deliver the troops to Singapore.

The Wakefield arrived at Keppel Harbour, Singapore, on January 29th. On the 30th, while refueling dockside, the harbor was attacked by two formations of 27 Japanese bombers. The Wakefield escaped two near misses, but a third bomb hit and penetrated destroying the sick bay. Five men were killed, and nine wounded.

Coast Guard Seaman 1st Class Daniel Norman Turner was Killed In Action on January 30, 1942.

Daniel was awarded the Purple Heart and is remembered on the Tablets of the Buried at Sea at the Manila American Cemetery at Fort Bonifacio, Manila.

Additional Links

• History of Coast Guard Cutter Wakefield

• Children & Families of Far East Prisoners of War