THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF MIKE TURPIN
Nothing seemed unusual about Army Spc. 4 Mike Turpin. He was a respected TV newscaster during his time at American Forces Vietnam Network, the military’s radio and television service for U.S. forces. When Turpin went on the air as a new TV anchor in 1967, “he had a new uniform and looked spic and span,” said John Mikesch, an Army specialist 5 and technical director for Turpin’s newscasts. “He had a mature, experienced presentation. He was perfect.” To most people who knew him, Turpin hardly seemed like a person who would die under mysterious circumstances, yet that is what happened in 1972 after he left the military and strangely returned to Vietnam. Nearly 50 years later, the mystery remains unsolved.
Off-camera, Turpin, who spoke at least five languages, led a life that was a perilous concoction of adventure and danger. He had previously served in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division and received a Purple Heart, Silver Star and Bronze Star. Turpin joined the Merchant Marine at age 16 in 1944 but changed course the next year and enlisted in the Army in April 1945. He served in Korea, where he suffered a head laceration and earned a Bronze Star. He was discharged from the Army in 1968.
Turpin, who went by “Mike” but whose given name was Ira Leslie Turpin, was born Jan. 29, 1928, in Gary, Indiana. He had five marriages, and four of them broke up. The last three wives are deceased, and the first two are believed to be dead. He had five biological children and one stepdaughter.
When Turpin died, officially in April 1972 at age 44, he was in Vietnam as a civilian. It’s not clear what he was doing there. Even more puzzling is his death. There are multiple theories of what happened.
Trouble at International House
After he left the military in 1968,
