- Published on
Bookie
The excerpt I am posting today is about Bookie.
For those of you who ask, “Bookie who?” the book will be a very informative and interesting read about the social, cultural, economic, and political history of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, and East Tennessee. Everybody who knew Bookie needs no further explanation.
Serving as both Sheriff of Hamilton County and Fire and Police Commissioner of Chattanooga, he was a legendary figure in local 20th century history, and I always felt like he wasn’t remembered as he deserved. So, in a deep-dive into his flamboyant life, four-chapters in Not-So-Normal People are devoted to the American patriot James “Bookie” Turner.
Uncorrected Excerpts
from the Advance Readers Copy of Not-So-Normal People
CHAPTER NINE
Bookie Turner early years to 1958
CHAPTER TEN
Bookie Turner early political years 1950s-1960s
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Bookie Turner in the middle 1960s
Jimmy Hoffa, RFK, and a Moonshine Conspiracy Trial
CHAPTER TWELVE
Bookie Turner Final years
1978-1986
In days to come I’ll do excerpts from all the Bookie chapters.
This is the beginning of Chapter Nine…
American Patriot
One instinctively knows when they are standing in a place of revered sanctity like the hallowed grounds of the Veterans Administration National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After passing through the cemetery gates, the landscape becomes thousands of granite headstones and monuments that stand as solemn individual memorials to Americans who served in the Armed Forces of the United States. Looking over the final resting place of so many patriots brings a sobering respect and gratitude to one’s consciousness. For personal reasons, I have visited this national historic shrine many times over the years. My grandfather, my father, my step-father, and my mother are all buried there. Also, Leo Vital, Bookie Turner, and other people I have known as well. The cemetery is particularly picturesque during holidays when every tombstone is adorned with a little American flag, or a beautiful red-bowed wreath. The grounds stay beautifully manicured, and the cemetery is an interesting and emotionally moving place to visit. I'm always thankful my loved ones are buried there.
On this particular day at the national cemetery I found myself walking in a crowd of people making their way to the graveside services of James Estill "Bookie" Turner. It was a cold February day, and everybody was bundled up in their scarves and long coats. The flag-draped casket had been carried to the cemetery in a carriage pulled by white police horses, led and followed by numerous police cars and fire trucks to very near where Bookie was to be buried. The funeral of Bookie Turner was a very ceremonial milestone event in Chattanooga. Many people were dressed out in their most decorative and formal uniforms: firefighters, police officers, and military honor guard members all there to perform their individual roles at Bookie's funeral in honor of his elected public service, and World War II military service in the U.S. Navy…
Skipping further into Chapter Nine…
The USS Tennessee and Pharmacists Mate James Turner
Upon graduating from Chattanooga Central High School in 1936, young Bookie Turner was raring to tackle the world, and make his mark on the fast-growing Southern city of his youth. He briefly attended Temple University, and did a four-year apprenticeship in the mortuary profession, becoming a licensed funeral director and mortician. In 1940, relying on his recently acquired experience dealing with dead bodies at his family's funeral home business, Bookie got himself appointed as Hamilton County Coroner at age 23, and claimed to be the youngest coroner in the United States. Very personable, and serious about doing a professional job, he quickly made a name for himself while serving as coroner, but wouldn't keep the job very long as world events intervened. Following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States entered into WWII, and a few months later, Bookie was among many Tennesseans eager to enlist and go help make the world safe for democracy. In early 1942, he signed up to serve in the U.S. Navy, and ended up on the battleship USS Tennessee.
Description for the photo below:
The USS Tennessee (BB-43), the lead ship of her class of battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 16thstate. In the Pacific Theater during World War II, she was damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, but was repaired and modernized. She participated in shore bombardments at the Aleutian Islands, Tarawa, the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. She was also involved in the Battle of Surigao Strait, the final battleship vs. battleship conflict ever.
