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Help Needed Identifying Ribbons - Navy Chief John Henry Turpin


carnut63
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First I apologize for not posting more, the collecting hobby has been slow this year. 

I am doing some research because I am tossing around the idea of recreating this uniform as a tribute to a pioneering Navy Chief, a real Naval legend. He served from 1893-1925 and was onboard both the USS Maine and the USS Bennington when they exploded. He volunteered again during WWII as sort of a recruiter. 

My question is about the ribbons, it was rumored that he received the MoH (maybe 2x) but the Navy never acknowledged it. I am not sure if that is what is on top or not. Here is what I managed to surmise.

 

Moh?

Sampson Medal

Spanish Campaign Medal

Puerto Rico Occupation Medal??

Navy Expeditionary Medal

China Campaign Medal

Mexican Service Medal

1st Nicaraguan Campaign Medal

WWI Victory Medal

Good Conduct Medal

 

If its not a Moh, could it be the USCG gold or silver lifesaving medal? It doesn't look like a PH.

 

On his right sleeve he wore a Seaman Gunner mark, a torpedo mark, an expert rifleman mark, and an ex-apprentice knot and on the left was 9 hash marks and a Master diver patch.

 

Thanks for the assistance.

 

Tyson

 

turpin.jpg.374acdfb1997435af9d6fabccce5571f.jpg

 

1515531121_dickturpin.jpg.ad710592ea3a57c5bc4dd48a6c83f8eb.jpg

 

1979530073_John_Henry_Turpin_Chief_Gunners_Mate_U.S._Navy_circa_in_the_1940s_(NH_89471).jpg.023913886137fa42a17a9bc264d75fbf.jpg

 

turpin2.jpg.95c58ec367da8fcbbf108164d7dbf89f.jpg

 

maxresdefault.jpg.315808b718a77f467eeef8737e649b24.jpg

 

c918cb27-ef75-407f-a065-5825ef9fecc6.jpg.e83d1d53a5aab9ee18c4ccf3e2230707.jpg

 

turpin3.jpg.0a59b87e5fd16c643f2907208b847298.jpg

 

turpin4.jpg.ae136abb62d6c3a30c51503031a29d38.jpg

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I'll agree that John Henry "Dick" Turpin was a real legend in the US Navy, and was a trailblazer as one of the first chief petty officers in the navy as well as what was probably the first African-American Master Diver some 40 years before Carl Brashear earned his title. Looking at his Wiki entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_Turpin as well as the printed stories by others, I think that it would be difficult to nail down his awards with certainty. There are places that record him as earning two Medals of Honor, but this is not verified by any official source. He is not listed in the Military Times Hall of Valor. 

 

Wikipedia lists his awards as follows:

Good Conduct Medal

Navy Expeditionary Medal

Spanish Campaign Medal

China Relief Expedition Medal

Nicaraguan Campaign Medal

Mexican Service Medal

World War I Victory Medal with two service stars

 

That being said, it does not appear that he would have been entitled to the China Relief Expedition medal. Also, I cannot guess on the Victory Medal with two stars as at best, he would have earned one bar. As he wasn't land based with the Marines or Naval Aviation, I don't believe that he would have qualified for the two stars cited.

 

Good luck on your endeavor.

 

Allan

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  • 6 months later...

Here are some more images and a BUPERS letter regarding Chief Gunner's Mate John Henry "Dick" Turpin.  This individual's active and inactive service totaled over 65 years.  A great patriot!  According to the BUPERS letter, GMC Turpin was entitled to the following military awards:

 

USN Good Conduct Medal

USN Expeditionary Medal

USN West Indies Naval Campaign Medal (Sampson Medal)

USN Spanish Campaign Medal

World War 1 Victory Medal

I believe he was also eligible for the Naval Reserve Medal, even though his record does not reflect it.   

 

**Not awarded the Medal of Honor.  

 

 

1191958732_GMCDickTurpinandWife.jpg.17f461f69146ca0b5d862c0babdb0eae.jpg

801797724_GMCTurpingraphic(2).jpg.19ea07bcbd207eafd8000c1b60d8703f.jpg2022810104_GMCTurpinassistingrecruitinginWWII.jpg.5f78590c3b52e92fe5b0cee47179fef1.jpg1505707675_GMCTurpinwithwifecompletingpaperwork.JPG.ae76b38e2a1ffc473ec8d66eede75562.JPG466403069_GMCTurpinheadstone.jpg.13c99f10a120b0ba9052c97bb21514c6.jpg1696782057_AfricanAmericansintheUSNbyNHHC.jpg.051b735af5cea95025f19e630a182828.jpg1091631566_USNBUPERSletterof9August1963-page1.jpg.b6a13ab8b5532d5abb168b9062462bab.jpg1727056363_USNBUPERSletterof9August1963-page2.jpg.e0474f039ce35b50e98338f95aed9f56.jpg

 

 

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  • 9 months later...

I was able to get a super size scan of the image from the Navy website. You can clearly see the top ribbon is the MOH, You can even make out the 5 stars on it (well maybe not after I upload it here). The #4 ribbon is almost certainly the Puerto Rico Occupation medal. I done see where he would have ever earned this, but from all accounts he was never awarded the MOH either. Thoughts?

Tyson

 

1895419122_turpinHQ.jpg.5ca3e0afb32c79d3c0347c8d8d032b20.jpg

 

2101712959_turpinribbons.jpg.f39a8f6ade84312f893ee6cb6a670720.jpg

163062652_turpinHQ.bmp turpin ribbons.bmp

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Here is what it looks like after the ribbons were sewn on. The jacket is a few sizes smaller that his likely was, so everything is a little closer together. 
 

EDF46110-DD29-45ED-B0DD-97C88BB2424E.jpeg.bf05ae89e0cfedb9d35e3792d45c2c1a.jpeg

 

E3D0356E-2795-403A-AC52-5842857D9B64.jpeg.b78f404f3bd78fd8f28db66f3de14a42.jpeg

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