SK2c Frank Edmond Jr. Burke

Frank Edmond Burke Jr. was born Dec. 24, 1913 in Humble, Texas, an oil town of about 1,300 residents 20 miles north-northeast of Houston. He enlisted in the Navy in July 1938 in Houston.

Mr. Burke married Elizabeth Jessie Spurlock, a nurse, in October 1939 while his ship, the U.S.S. Arizona, was at her home port at San Pedro, California. He added a year to his age, saying he was 26, while the bride dropped a year, saying she was 31.

He was a storekeeper and petty officer second class when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Publicly available records do not identify his mother or his parents’ occupations, but they may have divorced and her maiden name was possibly Claudie Eva Henderson.

Sources: the San Pedro (California) News-Pilot; The Daily Sun of Goose Creek, Texas; Census; Navy muster roll; Veterans Administration. Navy photo. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.