Canadian Virtual War Memorial
John Joseph Burke
In memory of:
Seaman John Joseph Burke
June 27, 1942
Military Service
54
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Potlatch (Oakland, California, USA) (220954)
British War Medal, Victory Medal, Canadian Merchant Marine Medal.
Additional Information
April 23, 1888
Blaydon, Durham, England
Son of William Burke and Mary Bridget Fahey, of Chase River, British Columbia. Husband of Elizabeth Jane King. Father of Edmund George Burke.
Prior to the First World War, he served for three and a half years with the British Imperial Forces. During the First World War, he fought in France with the 20th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, regimental number 57126, and was severely wounded at the Battle of Courcelette on September 18, 1916, and returned to Canada. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
On June 27, 1942, she was on route from New York, Trinidad, Suez, Egypt, when she was torpedoed at 9:52 p.m. by U-153 in the Caribbean Sea 650 miles (1046 km) from the Virgin Islands, position 19°20'N/53°18'W. She sank in less than five minutes. One officer and five crew members lost their lives. Her captain John Joseph Lapoint was awarded the US Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his meritorious and courageous actions during the sinking.
Commemorated on Page 104 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 21.
The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives. This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs. The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.
On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.
Digital Collection
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