The body of U.S. Army Sgt. Lyle Turnbull was returned to his native St. Thomas on Wednesday afternoon, and his family and comrades in arms were there to greet him.
A 2000 graduate of Charlotte Amalie High School and member of the 11th Signal Brigade of the 62nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Turnbull died Oct. 15 in Kuwait of what the Army termed a "medical emergency."
The investigation into Turnbull’s death has not been completed, but the public information office at Fort Hood, Texas, where the 11th Signal Brigade is headquartered, said it was known that the sergeant collapsed while on a run in Kuwait.
The V.I. National Guard facilitated the solemn "transfer of remains" ceremony that took place at the Cyril E. King Airport. Turnbull’s body arrived from Dover Air Force Base, and the flag-draped casket was removed from the aircraft to an awaiting hearse, under the watchful eyes of service members and veterans honoring their fallen comrade as he was returned to the territory and to his family.
According to Davis Funeral, a memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Church of God Prophecy across from the Home Depot entrance.
Turnbull entered active duty service with the U.S. Army on March 19, 2002, as a multichannel transmissions systems operator maintainer. As a member of the Thunderbirds, as the 11th Signal Brigade is called, he helped provide communications, computers and Internet service to combat units operating in the Middle East.
Brigade commander Col. James C. Parks III called Turnbull "a highly esteemed noncommissioned officer."
“He was a great American soldier, an exceptional man, father and husband," Parks said. "We know that the soldiers with whom Staff Sgt. Turnbull served respected and loved him. No words can bring Lyle back, but his memory will endure throughout the history of the Messenger Battalion and the Thunderbird Brigade.”
