John Taylor Burke

Native Son Returns to Home Soil

John Taylor “Jack” Burke was born in Icard, NC on April 21, 1925 to parents Frances Mae Link and Lloyd Ernest Burke. Jack attended Hildebran and Hickory schools and later enrolled in Newton-Conover High where he played football with the Red Devils. Along with many young men in rural North Carolina, he volunteered and was inducted into the US Marine Corps the summer after he graduated. It was August 1942. He was seventeen years old.

Jack shipped to San Diego, CA for basic training and was eventually assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. A year later in November 1943, Jack and his fellow Marines engaged the Japanese on Betio (pronounced bay-so), a sliver of sand in the Tarawa atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Described by author John Wukovits as “one square mile of hell,” the three-day battle claimed the lives of almost 1,000 Marines, Jack among them.

In March 1944 the Catawba News Enterprise reported that Jack’s status had been changed by the Marine Corps from ‘’missing in action” to “killed in action,” although his body was not recovered. The article read: “When Private Burke first landed in the South Pacific, he wrote his mother that he was there to fight for what was right and was ready to die, if necessary, to preserve the freedom enjoyed by Americans.”

In 1946 Jack’s name was memorialized on a plaque along with 176 others who perished in WWI and WWII. Above the list of names is written the words “That freedom and justice might prevail these Catawbans died.” The plaque is featured in the center of the Catawba County War Memorial, located on the grounds of the old 1924 courthouse and now home to the History Museum of Catawba County.

The specific circumstances surrounding Jack’s death are unknown. Historical records do not even confirm the date or time. But his 1st Battalion, 8th Regiment didn’t go ashore until November 21, 1943. Without dog tags or other personal identification, Jack was buried in Tarawa as an unknown and eventually interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii where he waited for the last seven decades. He was disinterred on January 23, 2017 as part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) effort to account for all losses associated with Tarawa.

Using mitochondrial DNA, anthropological evidence, and chest radiograph comparison analysis, DPAA considered Jack accounted for as of May 15, 2019. His niece Jill received the news from the USMC on Memorial Day.

Jack’s name is also inscribed at the Honolulu Memorial among the 18,095 Americans missing from WWII battles waged in the Pacific. A rosette will soon be placed by his name to signify that he’s been recovered and identified, a miracle of modern technology and perseverance.

Now, after 76 years, his family is privileged to return him to North Carolina. Welcome home, Jack!

In addition to his parents, Jack’s immediate family included: stepfather Thomas G. Underwood, siblings Vera McNeely, Fred Chapman, Winnifred Spencer, T.G. Underwood, Jr., Jean Bloodworth, Darlene Ward, Beverly Huff, Ken Burke and step-sister Lucille Drum. Sadly, most of these passed away without knowing that he would ever be identified. Remaining is one sister, Beverly Huff, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, including Tom McNeely who lives in Conover, NC.

The family of PFC Burke wishes to express their eternal gratitude to the DPAA, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the non-profit organization History Flight for their dedication to returning our heroes home. Catawba Funeral Home and Memorial Park deserve much appreciation for making this event possible. Thank you to everyone who provided support and for the respect and honor extended to Jack for the ultimate sacrifice he paid for all of us.