John W. Turner

John Turner served in both the U.S. Coast Guard (1992-1996) and the U.S. Army (2003-2007), where he deployed to Mosul, Iraq with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which was extended and reassigned to Baghdad in 2006. He rose to the rank of Captain, was awarded the Bronze Star for exceptionally meritorious service, and was recognized by best-selling author/journalist Robert Kaplan (Imperial Grunts) in two published articles as a future leader in America. In between his Coast Guard and Army service, he attended IUPUI and graduated from Purdue University.

In 2010, he put together a small group of like-minded young vets and began work on solving the terrible problems so many 21st Century war veterans were having coping with traumatic stress and other service-related disabilities. Ultimately, he quit his job and dedicated himself full-time to pursuing his vision, which would eventually become the Veterans Life Center.

On March 28, 2019, John received the Daughters of the American Revolution Medal of Honor, the highest award offered by that national patriotic organization.