James Frederick Burch

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-20646.jpeg UPL 20646 2nd Lt Jim Frederick Burch

Added photo

Object Number - UPL 20646 - 2nd Lt Jim Frederick Burch

Born and raised in Kaufman County, Texas, Jim Burch studied for 2 years at the Terrell High School and began working as a salesman in a retail grocery in Terrell, Texas. Enlisting in April 1942, he followed Pilot training courses and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant when he got his wings. Sent overseas, he was assigned to the 385 Bomber Group / 549 Bomber Squadron in England, as Co-Pilot in the Lt William Whitlow crew. A week after his first mission, he was on board B-17 # 42-3539 which was shot down by a German fighter on the 10 October 1943 mission to Münster, Germany. Bailing out over Nijverdal, Holland, he landed near Holten, spraining his ankle. Jim was helped by Dutch citizens and underground members who brought him to Belgium. Guided to Brussels, he was taken in charge by the Belgian Comet evasion network and with the help of many Belgian and French citizens and members of the Résistance, he reached the Franco-Spanish border. One of a group of 10 men who left in the evening of 22 December 1943 from Ciboure, France, towards the Spanish border, he was walking with difficulty along the narrow paths. After resting at a farm in Urrugne near the border, the group resumed its march in the evening of 23 December. Negociating the difficult, hilly terrain across the rugged Pyrénées mountains, Jim, almost exhausted, marched on, not wanting to see the passage compromised by forcing his fellow evaders to wait for him. Jim could not swim, but like the others, past midnight, he started to cross the swollen Bidassoa River, forming a natural border between France and Spain. Almost drowning at his first attempt, he was brought back to the French side by a member of the group and was helped again in a second attempt. Tragically, like Belgian Comète member Count Antoine d’Ursel, he lost his footing in the raging waters and both were drowned, the other evaders unable to save them. Their bodies were found on 26 December at Biriatou, downriver on the French side by members of the German Feldgendarmerie Brigade of Behobia, Spain. The Germans took all documents and personal effects they found on them and exposed their bodies on the church steps at Biriatou where, to the anger of the Germans, the villagers covered them with flowers. Despite the death certificate established by a French doctor and the official request to the German authorities to proceed to a burial, the bodies of the two men were never found. According to local rumor, the Germans eliminated the men by burning their bodies. A death certificate for Jim Burch was established in Cambridge dated 22 December 1943, which is the official date of Jim’s death, although the real date is 24 December. Jim’s name is still in the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) list of the Missing In Action. It is carved on the Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in Coton, England, as well as on the Wall of the Missing at the Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas. Jim was married to Olga E. Burch, who never got over the tragic death of her husband. They had no children. See the details of Jim Burch’s evasion and fate at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fburchjf.html

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 385th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 38200176
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator/Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Michigan Air Force
  • Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron 550th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Terrell, Texas, USA 16 August 1917 the son of Edmond Preston Burch and Nora V. Burch

Enlisted

7 April 1942 as a Private in the Air Corps

Other

Bailed out

over Nijverdal, Holland 10 October 1943 of B-17 #42-3539

Other

landed in parachute

near Holten, Holland 10 October 1943

Other

Evaded capture

10 October 1943 - 23 December 1943 Helped by Dutch, Belgian and French citizens and underground members, he reached the Franco-Spanish border.

Died

downhill from the Chemin de Licarlan, Biriatou, France 24 December 1943 He drowned in the night in attempting to cross the swollen Bidassoa River trying to reach Spain. His body, together with that of Belgian Antoine d'Ursel, was found 2 days later downriver on the French side by the Germans. They have no known grave.
Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas, United States

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Updated website address of www.evasioncomete.be

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Added details of death location

Date
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia;
- MACR 826

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

NARA WWII Enlistment records
MACR 826
US 1940 Census
Personal research on the plane and the crew
DPAA MIA list
http://www.385thbga.com/database/

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

MACR 826 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

James Frederick Burch: Gallery (1 items)