John M Burk

Military
media-16188.jpeg UPL 16188 John McKale Burk, c 1943, on leave, taken at Wissahickon Park, Philadelphia

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Object Number - UPL 16188 - John McKale Burk, c 1943, on leave, taken at Wissahickon Park, Philadelphia

John McKale Burk was born 30 November 1924 in Ventnor, Atlantic County, NJ to Frederick Grater Burk (20 April 1891 Philadelphia, PA -19 June 1948 Philadelphia, PA) and Mary Cunningham McKale Burk (21 February 1895 Philadelphia, PA - 20 October 1990 Wyndmoor, Montgomery, PA). His father, Fred, was the son of industrialist Charles David Burk and his wife Louise Grater. His mother, Mary, was the daughter of businessman John Thorpe McKale and his wife Anna Wetherstine. He had two older siblings: Anna Mary (14 April 1919 Ventnor, NJ - 14 June 1923 Philadelphia, PA) who died of a brain tumor and Frederic Grater Burk Jr. (3 November 1920 Ventnor, NJ - 24 February 1988 Philadelphia, PA), who also served in the Army during WWII. John attended elementary schools in Ventnor, then, as the family moved back to Philadelphia, attended the William Penn Charter School, class of 1942. He enrolled at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ where he enlisted in the Army in December 1942. John was called up for training April 1943 in Alabama and assigned as a navigator to a B-17 crew with crew training in October and November 1944 in Avon Park and Drew Field, FL. The crew consisted of: Richard Coleman, pilot, Peter Ebersol co-pilot, John Burk navigator, Morris Nieman toggelier, Grady Hise engineer, William Tanton tail gunner, John Curry radio operator/gunner, John David Hardie waist/tail gunner, and George Avena ball turret gunner. They picked up their B-17 November 20 in Savannah, GA, then on to Bangor, ME where they left for England making their way first to Gander, Newfoundland on December 11. After 4 days in Gander due to weather, they took off and landed in Wales December 16, then made their way to Burtonwood, England on the 17th. The crew arrived at Rattlesden Air Base in Suffolk, England December 22nd. John flew 34 missions, January-April 1945, returning to the US May 1945, and separating from the service October 1945 as a first lieutenant. He returned to Princeton University, where he finished his studies in 1948, graduating with a BA in Economics, cum laude. He returned to live with his recently widowed mother in Philadelphia. John worked a variety of jobs into the mid 1950’s and in 1953 joined the National Drug Company, where he met his future wife, Nancy Jane McKee (24 July 1928 Philadelphia – 13 November 2005 Somerville, NJ). They married 15 January 1955 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh, PA, settling first in Skippack then in King of Prussia. Their daughter, Laura Mary, “Laurie” was born 1956 in Philadelphia and their son, Frederic Grater III, “Greg”, was born 1967 in Somerville, NJ. John joined Burroughs Corp as a human resources manager in the late 1950’s; the family moved to Bridgewater, NJ in 1964 when Burroughs expanded their operations at the nearby Mt. Bethel plant. John accepted a position as Vice President, Administration at the Jersey City National Bank in 1978. John was an avid sports enthusiast, following Princeton sports throughout his life, football for the Philadelphia and NY teams, and was an avid golfer and tennis player. He died of a massive heart attack at home on 1 October 1983.

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Units served with

The insignia of the 447th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-2071136
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
  • Role/Job: flight engineer/ top turret gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Barbara Jane
  • Unit: 524th Bomb Squadron 379th Bomb Group

Missions

Places

Revisions

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Contributorjmoore43
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Added Some Punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.

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Contributorlmburk
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Info from records of daughter Laurie Burk; from 447th website; from Rattlesden website.

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Contributorlmburk
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Records from 447th website

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Contributorlmburk
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Records on America's Air Museum

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Contributorlmburk
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From records of daughter, Laurie Burk.

Date
Contributorlmburk
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Records from daughter, Laurie Burk

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ContributorAAM
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Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit History Roster as of 01 August 1945

John M Burk: Gallery (2 items)