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
Western Caroline Islands Operation/Battle of Peleliu
From Month/Year
September / 1944
To Month/Year
October / 1944
Description The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June–November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
Major General William Rupertus, USMC—commander of 1st Marine Division—predicted the island would be secured within four days. However, due to Japan's well-crafted fortifications and stiff resistance, the battle lasted over two months. In the United States, it was a controversial battle because of the island's questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate, which exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".
