Harlan Burton

Harlan Burton was born in Sedalia on August 25, 1921, to Ollie and Euba Burton. Ollie was a truck driver. There were five children in the family: Mildred, Harlan, Nadine, Garlan, and Ima. The family address while Harlan was in high school was listed on his permanent records as 1815 South Grand. The family address later was 1842 South Beacon. Harlan attended Broadway Elementary School before entering Smith-Cotton Junior-Senior High School on September 3, 1935. Harlan's last semester at Smth-Cotton ended in May, 1936. When he was 16-17, he became a truck driver and hauled cattle from Sedalia to St. Louis for his uncle. He also worked in the stockyards. Harlan was married to Verna Louise Newton of Beaman on December 24, 1941. The ceremony was conducted at Judge J. E. Smith's home and was a double wedding with Clayton Morris and Bertrude Marlin. On March 27, 1943, Harlan and Verna had a baby girl who died two days later.

On August 19, 1942, Harlan was inducted into the army at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis. He was 5'4 1/2" and weighed 126 pounds. His serial number was 37 375 829. Prior to his departure for the army, he was honored at a farewell picnic gathering at Liberty Park attended by many of his family and friends. Harlan's first assignment was at Las Vegas, Nevada. Later, he was stationed at Army Air Bases in Salt Lake City, Utah; Blythe, California; Casper, Wyoming; and Salina Kansas before going overseas.

For his overseas duty, Harlan was stationed at the Army Air Force Station 110 in Polebrook, Engiand. He was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 511th Bomb Squadron, 351st Bomb Group(H). Harlan was a ball turret gunner on a B-17-F, a "Flying Fortress" bomber known as the "Screwball."

On November 3, 1943, the 22-year old ball-turret gunner was on a mission to Wilhelmshaven,Germany aboard another B-17 called "Fire Ball" also known as Aircraft #42-29852, The plane was in an aerial collision with a plane from another group southwest of the target and was badly damaged. As they tried to return to base, they crashed north of Wilhelmshaven on Mellum Island.

The bomb route had taken the crew south of Emden, Germany to the IP (Initial Point of the bomb run) near Apen, Germany (about 25 miles SSW of the target, the submarine pens at Wilhelmshaven). At the IP, the formation made a turn to the north. At this time, enemy fighters had attacked the low squadron of the low group and would claim three downed B-17s from the 401st squadron of the 91st bomb group. It is one of these planes that probably hit the Fire Ball.

At the IP, the planes on the left side of the formation slowed down so the combat wing could turn and line up for the bomb run, the high group on the right side would have to speed up. Harlan's crew was on the left side of the lead squadron (between the low group and the high group) in the low squadron.

It appears that one of the 91st's planes continued straight, and climbed into the lead group's formation when it hit Fire Ball. Hearsay evidence suggests that the pilot of that plane had been shot in the head. It is thought that the crew of that plane regained control for only a few minutes before it crashed in the town of Wilhelmshaven after exploding.

After Fire Ball was crippled, it had to drop out of formation. The collision bent the right wing tip up "like the toe of a ski," according to one pilot in another squadron, and 20 feet of aileron flew off the plane. The pilots could turn the wheel freely with no effect on the plane's flight.

Out of formation, the ship attracted two or three enemy fighters. The tail gunner, Henry Gates, is credited by his crew as shooting one down, and Harlan got the last one. The bombardier, Bradley Squires, of Bellevue, Pennsylvania wrote Harlan's mother and told her that he credited Harlan with downing a fighter and with other circumstances of Harlan's death. The letter read:

"My dear Mrs. Burton:

"I know you have waited so long for some news concerning the death of your son, Harlan. I was an officer on the ship which carried your son on the raid of November 3. I will try to tell you, to the best of my ability, what happened that day. Many things are still uncertain as I was unconscious for awhile.

"In an aerial collision near Bremen, Germany, the ship was badly damaged and in an attempt to return to our base, the plane crashed near Wilhelmshaven, Germany. To the best of my knowledge, your son was unable to get out of the ship. The other three men who were killed were drowned in the North Sea, I believe.

"I know your loss is irreplaceable and there can be no consolation from any source.

"Your son was an excellent soldier and gunner and his work against the enemy was very important to us. Harlan was very well liked by all the officers and squadron. He had many enemy aircraft to his credit and destroyed one the day that he lost his life in the service of his country.

"My sincerest sympathy to you and to Harlan's wife.

"Very sincerely yours,

"Lieut. Bradley E. Squires, Jr."

The navigator, Orlyn Master, remembers Harlan yelling, "I got him" just before Fire Ball broke up. Orlyn credits Harlan with a second fighter saying the ship was attacked by three. Records suggest that the observing crews only saw two fighters. The waist gunner, John Yarush, also claims to have gotten one fighter. There were ten crewmembers. Some crew members remember an explosion, others don't.

In a German report filed November 12, 1943, the plane Harlan was in was 99% damaged by marine flak and crashed on Mellum Island (Jade Bay). Of the ten crew members, six were captured and four were determined to be dead. The Germans located three bodies. Two of the bodies they thought were those of Lieutenant Elmer J. Nardi and Lieutenant Harold E. Bergman. One unidentified body was presumed to be Technical Sergeant Frank Swica. Using the German records as a starting point, the US was able to identify and recover only two bodies, Nardi and Swica. The two not recovered were those of Lieutenant Bergman and Staff Sergeant Harlan D. Burton. In August, 1946,. Mr. Bradley E. Squires was called on to furnish information which would be of assistance in locating the graves of these four. In Mr. Squires' response, he wrote:

"Dear Sir:

"In reply to your letter dated 6 August 1946 I am forwarding the following information which I hope will be helpful in locatiang the graves of four deceased crew members with whom I was associated.

"Lt. Elmer J. Nardi, 0-731894, Lt. Harold E. Bergman, 0-739889, Technical Sergeant Frank Swica 33114654, and Staff Sergeant Harlan D. Burton, 37375829 were crew members of the 351st Bomb H Group 511th Bomb Squadron and were killed when Aircraft #42-29852 crashed in the vicinity of Wilhelmshaven, Germany 3 November 1943.

"To the best of my knowledge the aircraft crashed on the island of Spiekeroog in the West Frisian group. The six surviving members landed on the island or in the water nearby. I saw none of the crew members who were killed after I landed although I searched the wreckage carefully. I was told by a Luftwaffe intelligence officer at Dulag Luft, Frankfurt on Main, Germany that the four above mentioned men had been killed. He mentioned that Sgt. Burton's body had been found on the island.

"Lt. Orlyn E. Master, navigator, Kewanna, Indiana, was picked up in the North Sea by a fisherman who informed him that there were others in the water. Lt. Master and I concluded that the deceased crewmembers with the exception of Sgt. Burton were drowned.

"I hope that the above information will be of some help to you. Please contact me at any time in regard to this situation if there is anything further.

"My address henceforth will be Roxana Community High School, Roxana, Illionois.

"Very truly yours,

"Bradley E. Squires, Jr.

"ASN 0-733363"

Harlan was declared missing in action. Both his parents and his wife were notified of his status by the War Department by telegram on November 12, 1943. Harlan had been in the military one year, two months, 27 days. In May, 1944, his personal effects which included two wallets, a Testament, two watches, a ring, toiletry articles, and clothing were sent to his wife, Verna. At this time, his brother, Garlan was serving with the Merchant Marines in St. Petersburg, Florida. On July 16, 1944 after evidence considered sufficient to establish the fact of death was received by the Secretary of War from the German government, the War Department notified the family that Harlan's status had been chaned from missing in action to killed in action.

At the time that Harlan's status changed to killed in action, Garlan was stationed as a Merchant Marine in the Marshall Islands with the Navy. Among survivors listed were his three sisters Mildred Grace (Mrs. Carl) Brown, 509 West Second Street, Jessie Nadine (Mrs. Bill) Franken, - later to become Jesse Nadine Young - and Miss Ima Fay Burton - later to become Ima Brandes - and his grandmother, Mrs. Susie Tucker of Cross Timbers. Harlan's wife, Verna, had made her home with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Newton, in Beaman. Harlan's parents, Ollie and Euba Burton, also survived.

In March, 1952, Harlan's name appeared along with 15 others in a narrative report stating that these deceased were in an unresolved status. In July, 1953, the effort continued to identify the remains of First Lieutenant Harold E. Bergman and Staff Sergeant Harlan D. Burton. They were the only unresolved casualty crew members of aircraft B-17 #42-29852 that crashed on November 3, 1943. Reinvestigation was conducted at Wilhelmshaven for the recovery of the deceased with negative results. Another investigation was conducted at Wilhelmshaven on September 1, 1953, again with negative results. On October 14, 1953, the final investigation report was filed that Harlan D. Burton's body remained non-recoverable.

According to later research into this incident, the Germans examined the crash and indicated that the downing was probably due to Marine flak. There were flak guns located on Mellum Island which before the war, and now is once again, a bird sanctuary. As previously mentioned, the Germans claimed they found three of the crewmembers' bodies - the pilot, co-pilot, and one unidentified. After the war, the unidentified body was found to be that of Frank Swica, the top-turret gunner and was buried at Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre, Belgium. . The pilot's body, Elmer Nardi, was returned to California for burial. The body of the co-pilot, Harold Bergman, was apparently incorrectly identified by the Germans. Harlan Burton and Harold Bergman remained the only two crewmembers whose bodies were not recovered. They are remembered on Tablets of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.

In the 1980s, Donnald Happold (Nebraska), Bradley Squires (California) and Ganusheau Wade (Mississippi) died. Garlan's son (Harlan's nephew), Randy Burton, a 1968 graduate of Smith-Cotton, has visited Wade's gravesite and spoken briefly with Wade's wife. Three crew members are currently (2006) still living. Orlyn Master lives near Rochester, Indiana and winters in Texas. John Yarush lives in Springfield, Oregon. Henry Gates lives near Farmerville, Louisiana. Randy Burton has met all three and remains in contact with them.

In the short amount of time that Harlan served his country, he received many awards. These include the Air Medal, three Oak Leaf Clusters for outstanding service, a Purple Heart, and a certificate for shooting down a Nazi transport plane. Harlan Burton's service to the United States is memorialized locally on the World War II section of the War Monument located in front of the Pettis County Court House.

Harlan D Burton