Loved ones remember West TN soldier killed in training accident

MEMPHIS, Tenn — A West Tennessee soldier killed during a vehicle training accident has been identified as Private First Class Tara Turnage.

It happened Monday morning at the National Training Center in California. Just days after learning the news, the soldier’s family spoke out. While details surrounding the accident are limited, the family of Turnage is just trying to cope with the loss.

With the accident happening just a few days before Mother’s Day, family and friends are not only staying strong for themselves, but also for the soldier’s 7-year-old daughter.

Those who knew Private First Class Turnage are holding on to the memories they have shared, still trying to understand why she is not here.

“I’m not sure I actually really processed it because I’ve called her phone multiple times and it’s still ringing,” Turnage’s longtime best friend Barbara Barksdale said.

Turnage, a soldier with the Tennessee National Guard, served with the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment. She drilled in Humboldt and lived in Memphis.

Turnage’s best friend of 17 years, Barbara, said it’s still hard to believe she’s gone. “Just a real emotional person, so I just immediately began to cry because I could never imagine my life being without her,” Barksdale said. “Like we planned everything together.”

A statement by the Tennessee National Guard released Wednesday says in part, “Service to one’s country that ends so tragically is the highest form of patriotism. Private First Class Turnage was a true patriot and we will miss her dearly.”

Along with her love for her country, family and friends want her to be remembered as a free spirit always uplifting others. “She always had that jolly spirit,” Barksdale said. “If you were ever down, she was the person that’s going to come to you and pep you up.”

Turnage was only 26 years old, leaving behind her 7-year-old daughter, Ni Kyiah Humphreys. “We’re going to live through Ni Kyiah for her mom, because we have to keep her uplifted as well as trying to keep ourselves uplifted,” Barksdale said.

The family says they are in the beginning stages of making funeral arrangements as they wait for her body to return to West Tennessee.

Details of the accident are not available due to pending investigations.