This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Ken Burch-Family
to remember
Burch, Francis, CPO.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Retired and living in Evart, MI. with wife Elsie. Dad would never talk about the war. CPO Burch is buried in the Sylvan Cemetery, Osceola County, MI.
Other Comments:
I asked Dad on occasion about the war. He couldn't bring himself to talk about it. He did mention one time about a Japanese medium bomber ("Betty") ramming into his ship. Dad fought in 7 major battles in the Pacific. Torpedo hit the ship at one time and was sailed backwards to Pearl Harbor and then, I think, to Bremerton WA for repairs. Dad was on the USS Maryland on December 7, 1941. Can't imagine what he was thinking besides the horror and the anger. Dads job during engaging the enemy on board ship was the first turret. I couldn't get him to talk about that either. When not in combat, Dad was an electrician. He did stay with the USS Maryland for the duration of the war. I think that may be a bit unusual. After the war, Dad went into electronics and made his living. He sure was a good guy.
Teresa Burch
Daughter-in-law
Central Pacific Campaign (1941-43)/Battle of Tarawa
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
November / 1943
Description The Battle of Tarawa (US code name Operation Galvanic) was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, located in what is now the nation of Kiribati. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio.
The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the war that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings met little or no initial resistance. but this time the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The U.S. had suffered similar casualties in other campaigns, for example over the six months of the Guadalcanal Campaign, but in this case the losses were incurred within the space of 76 hours.
