Edward Dennis Burke
PFC Edward D. Burke served the Marine detachment aboard the cruiser USS Quincy (CA-39).
He was lost at sea in the battle of Savo Island, off Guadalcanal, on 9 August 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 287677
Current Status
Lost At Sea
Pursuit Category
Based on circumstances of loss, this individual is considered permanently non-recoverable.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
June 10, 1922
at Providence, RI
Parents
Raymond Joseph Burke
Elizabeth Cecilia (Kane) Burke
later Mrs. Elizabeth Slayton
Education
East Providence High School
Occupation & Employer
Enlisted from high school
Service Life
Entered Service
July 12, 1940
at Boston, MA
Home Of Record
87 John Street
Providence, RI
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Slayton
Military Specialty
Ship’s Detachment
Primary Unit
USS Quincy
Campaigns Served
Atlantic Patrols
Guadalcanal / Savo Island
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Edward “Eddie” Burke served with the Marine detachment aboard the heavy cruiser USS Quincy from 1940 to 1942. Much of that time was spent on patrol or escort duty in the Atlantic; Quincy’s Pacific service started in the summer of 1942. Burke’s exact duties aboard ship are not known; on muster rolls he noted as a striker for a 5″ gun, but family accounts indicate he may have served as an orderly to the ship’s commanding officer, Captain Samuel Moore. On 7 August 1942, Quincy fired the opening shots of the battle of Guadalcanal, and provided fire support and anti-aircraft defense for the Marine landings. She then assumed patrol duties with sister ships USS Astoria and USS Vincennes.
At 0147 on 9 August, Quincy received a report of “strange ships entering harbor.” General quarters sounded; a few minutes later, the first shells hit the cruiser. Marine Corporal Jasper Lucas recalled the sudden surprise and horror of the battle that followed.
Quiet as a graveyard. Then, all at once, we were caught in a sweep of searchlights. The Jap fleet was coming at us.... We were being hit by shellfire, and shrapnel was whizzing about like hail. You could see it raining off the turret – it looked like rain hitting a window and bouncing off.
Somebody yelled below, "We're on fire! The Quincy's burning!" The gun deck was aflame. A torpedo had hit us, going through the main engine room..... We knew we were sinking. We knew we were out of the fight. We had no power, no control over the ship; she was beginning to list, and we knew she was on her way out....
She went down like the dignified old lady she was. Deliberately, easily, without fuss or bother, she turned her fantail right in the face of the entire Imperial Japanese Navy and with all screws turning sank beneath the waves. The screws whirred like a fan in the air, then, as it went, churned the water white. The commotion in the water died down. The USS Quincy had gone under.
Officially, Eddie Burke was simply listed as “missing” after the battle of Savo Island; no official cause of death was reported, and he was declared dead as of 10 August 1943. However, a veteran later told the Burke family that Eddie was hit at his battle station and set on fire. He tried to jump into the sea, but due to the list of the ship or a fatal miscalculation, fell onto a steel deck and died on the spot.
Approximately 370 sailors and Marines lost their lives in the sinking of the USS Quincy.
Burial Information or Disposition
Remains lost at sea; ship considered to be final resing place.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter, Rhode Island
The wreck of the Quincy was discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1992.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Slayton
Location Of Loss
The Quincy sank in Iron Bottom Sound at 0240 hours.
Whoever wrote this piece of fiction, in part; you are being corrected by a family member, Dorothy R. Znosko, (niece of Edward) who never got to meet Edward as my UNCLE and thank him for serving our country. Please read on:
PFC Edward Dennis Burke, USMC, who was my mother’s brother, was NOT onboard the ship when it sank. Edward’s brother, Raymond J. Burke, was told many years later by a co-resident at the same retirement home in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, who asked Raymond if he was related to Edward Burke, as the resident served on the USS Quincy with Edward and survived the battle.
The resident told Raymond that Edward was at his battle station TOPSIDE and was set aflame during the attack; he told Raymond that Edward must have thought he was jumping into the water. In actuality, Edward hit the deck and was killed. His body was never recovered; he is officially listed as “Missing At Sea”, in the Battle of Savo Island August, 9, 1942. My grandmother and mother never revealed this truth to Raymond.
Ironically, my father, Edward J. Znosko, United States Navy, was aboard the Heavy Cruiser USS Chicago (CA 29)* on August 9, 1942, in the very same Battle of Savo Island. My father survived and married Edward’s sister, Dorothy, in January of 1945. Dorothy was a Navy Ensign (Nurse) who met my father at Newport Naval Hospital where he was a patient.
* The first USS Chicago (CA-20) was it by a Japanese destroyer torpedo in the Battle of Savo Island; Chicago fought damage while continuing to engage until contact with the enemy was lost. Chicago was repaired at Noumea, Sydney, and San Francisco, where she arrived 13 October, 1942. It was sunk during the Battle of Rennell Island, 30 January 1943.
Hello Dorothy,
Thank you for the correction, and I apologize for any offense I may have caused. Unfortunately there are very few surviving accounts of the fates of individual marines aboard the Quincy; the majority of them served with her 5-inch secondary batteries (as with other ships of her class) and a July, 1942 muster roll lists PFC Burke’s battle station as “gunstriker, 5″ AA gun” it was my belief that he had been caught below decks with other members of the gun crews.
My great uncle, Lt. Commander Edmund Billings, was the communications officer for the USS Quincy; he was on the bridge when it was set afire by an explosion and managed to make it to the deck, where he was last seen badly wounded encouraging the men to fight on. Like PFC Burke, his body was never found and he is also officially missing at sea.
Again, thank you for sharing this story, and again, please accept my apology for the mistake. I will correct Edward Burke’s entry as soon as possible.
Best,
Geoffrey
His brother Raymond relayed that PFC Edward Dennis Burke, USMC was the guard for the Captain of the ship.
That very well could be the case. The last surviving muster roll for the ship was taken in July, 1942; any other paperwork would have been lost when she went down. Here is PFC Burke on that document:
He might have been reassigned more recently as guard for Captain Samuel Moore, or perhaps had a double duty – though that seems unlikely, as the Captain’s guard was a full-time position.
In that case, our relatives might have been close by one another when they were hit. As Moore’s bodyguard Burke would have been close by the Captain at all times during action; the Captain was killed on the Quincy’s bridge. Lt. Cdr. Billings was also on the bridge, lost half of his face and was set on fire by the shell that hit the bridge. An officer who arrived shortly thereafter found everyone on the bridge dead or dying, with the exception of the helmsman.
It would make sense that Edward Burke’s battle station was manning the Gunstriker 5″ (?) AA Gun when he was set afire.
And thanks for that informational piece! Will pass it on Facebook to family 🙂
Of course! I’m happy to help out, and as I mentioned I’ll be sure to update PFC Burke’s entry with the story you provided.
A “gun striker” (as near as I remember) was responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the crew’s weapon; I have an acquaintance who was aboard the USS Lexington on a 5″ gun identical to those on the Quincy, so he will probably have an idea. And of course PFC Burke may have been at the gun, or with the Captain as bodyguard when he was hit. It just struck me that our two ancestors should have fought and died on the same ship in such a similar manner.
Best,
Geoffrey