Born: October 27, 1916 Merchant Seaman, U.S. Merchant Marine (COOK)
MERCHANT SHIP – SS JOHN BURKE (LIBERTY SHIP)
Date of Enlistment: January 1942 Home or Place of Enlistment: Preston, Idaho Lost at Sea: December 28, 1944
On December 28, 1944, while transporting ammunition to Mindoro, Philippines,the John Burke was hit by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft, detonating her her entire cargo of munitions, instantly destroying the ship and killing her crew of 40 merchant marine sailors and 29 armed guards. John Burke was one of three Liberty Ships and one of forty-seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II.
Because the Merchant Marine was not considered a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Purple Heart was not available to Merchant Mariners; as such, the Merchant Marine Mariner's Medal was established by an Act of Congress on 10 May 1943.
Awarded only to members of the United States Merchant Marine, the Mariner’s Medal recognizes seamen who were killed or wounded as a direct result of conflict against an opposing armed force; in specific, it was awarded to any seaman who while serving in a ship during a war period is wounded, suffers physical injury, or suffers through dangerous exposure as a result of an act of enemy of the United States. In the event any such seaman dies from the wounds or injuries before the award can be made to him, the medal may be presented to the person named in the War Risk Policy as his beneficiary. 6,635 Mariner's Medals were awarded for service in the Second World War; all further awards of the Mariner's Medal were suspended on 30 June 1956 and has not been awarded in subsequent U.S. theaters of conflict.
The merchant marine is collectively those non-naval ships that carry cargo or passengers or provide maritime services, and the civilian crewmen and officers who sail those ships. During World War II the ships and men of the United States merchant marine transported across the oceans of the world the vast quantities of war materiel, supplies, equipment, and troops needed to fight and win that war. The men of the U.S. merchant marine were civilian volunteers who nonetheless died proportionally in numbers that rivaled or exceeded any branch of the uniformed military.
On March 13, 2020, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded collectively to the United States Merchant Mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and vital service during the war.