(Editor’s note: The following story is written by Art Burke of Union Street, Dover. It is about his uncle, Maurice James Burke, a native of Dover. His uncle was 23-year career Navy sailor, who was killed in action 70 years ago, on July 10, 1943, when his ship, the USS Maddox, was dive bombed and sunk while supporting the invasion of Sicily in World War II.)
By ART BURKE
Special to the Democrat
“I think, therefore, that we ought to take … great numbers also of archers and slingers to make against the Sicilian horse. Meanwhile, we must have an overwhelming superiority at sea, to enable what we want; and, we must take our own corn in merchant vessels.”
The decision to invade Sicily was made by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill during the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. As the two leaders were meeting at Casablanca, Allied forces were fighting Axis forces in North Africa. Confident of victory, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that following the defeat of the Axis forces in North Africa, the Allied forces would invade Sicily.
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This is photo of the Navy destroyer, the USS Maddox, that was sunk by an enemy dive bomber on July 10, 1943 while participating in the invasion of Sicily in World War 11. Maurice J. Burke of Atkinson Street in Dover, was one of the 203 enlisted sailors who died in the attack. He was considered missing in action for one year and then declared dead.
The Germans surrendered in North Africa on May 13, 1943. The Sicilian invasion was set for early July.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower who commanded the American forces in North Africa was chosen as over-all commander of the Allied forces for the invasion of Sicily. He had within his command high ranking and experienced British and American officers such as General Bernard Montgomery, Air Chief Marshal Tedder, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, General George Patton, and General Omar Bradley.
Eisenhower would direct the invasion of Sicily from the strategically located island of Malta, which is about midway between Southern Europe and North Africa.
When the order was given, ships from ports along the North African Coast such as Oran and Algiers, and ships from the Middle East began to move through the waters of the Mediterranean Sea toward the island of Sicily. Beyond the Mediterranean, ships from Britain and ships from America raced toward Gibraltar to join in the armada. More than 3,000 vessels were assembled. Almost 2,000 vessels took part in the initial assault.
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This Killed In Action Purple Heart was presented by the Navy to the family of Maurice James Burke of Dover after he was formally declared dead after he was lost at sea when his ship, the USS Maddox, was bombed and sank during the invasion of Siciily in World War II
The American assault was directed toward the southwestern corner of the triangular-shaped island of Sicily. The British assault was directed toward the southeastern shore of Sicily. Canadian forces struck between the American and British forces.
The American assault was along a nearly 70-mile coastline from Licata on the left to Gela in the center to Scoglitti on the right. The invasion began before daybreak on the morning of July 10, 1943. One of the ships participating in the initial assault was destroyer U.S.S. Maddox. On board the Maddox were more than 250 officers and sailors. One of the sailors was Maurice J. Burke of Atkinson Street, Dover, New Hampshire. He was nearly 44 years old.
The Maddox was assigned to screen for submarines and airplanes about 16 miles off the Gela region. Here is the ship’s section of the Navy Department’s account of the sinking of the U.S.S. Maddox, a 1,630-ton destroyer:
Sunrise that morning was at 5:52 a.m., but the ship was at general quarters long before the first signs of light began to show. At approximately 4:55 a.m. several flares of starshells were seen to the northwest, about 10 miles away. Two minutes later, small high speed propeller noises were heard bearing dead ahead. By this time there was sufficient light in the east for surface objects to be seen at a range of perhaps 3 miles and the mountains of Sicily were becoming plainly outlined.
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Sailor Maurice J. Burke, in civilian clothes, was a native of Dover, living on Atkinson Street.
At age 44, having served 23 years in the U.S. Navy, he was killed in action when a dive bomber sank the USS Maddox, a destroyer he was serving on that was part of the invasion of Siciliy. The 70th anniversayr of the sinking was on July 10. (Courtesy photo)
Soon, the destroyer’s sound man reported that he had picked up the propeller noises, topside the lookouts reported hearing the roar of an airplane pulling out of a dive and the whistling of a bomb. One bomb exploded about 25 yards off the stern, another missed almost under the starboard propeller guard, and then a horrific shock jarred the ship, indicating that a third bomb scored a direct hit.
The Maddox was awash by the stern within a few seconds. Fire broke out and the vessel continued to settle by the stern. Electric power, steering control and communication with the engine room were destroyed by the initial explosion. The ship, almost dead in the water, took a five- degree list to port, righted herself, and then rolled rapidly over to her starboard side. She sank to a perpendicular position with her bow standing vertically above the surface, paused there momentarily, then exploded internally and sank.
Survivors were in the water for about an hour before they were picked up by a tug boat which had been three miles away and had seen the flames and heard the bombs explode. Men that were able to escape were all from the forward part of the ship with the exception of four from the after fire room and two from a 20-mm gun platform just aft of number 2 stack.
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Maurice James Burke's of Dover was formally declared dead as thie newpaper photo and brief story indicates after the destroyer he was serving on, the USS Maddox, was bombed and sank during the invasion of Sicily in May of 1943.
Nine officers and 65 men survived. The senior officer rescued was Lieutenant W. R. Laird, Jr., the ship’s executive officer. Eight officers, including the ship’s Commanding Officer, and 203 enlisted men were lost in the action.
Maurice J. Burke was among the 203 enlisted men lost in action. He was declared to be missing in action for one year. Then he was declared to be dead.
Maurice James Burke was inducted into the United States Navy at Manchester, New Hampshire on January 30, 1920. He received basic training at Newport, Rhode Island.
From 1920 to 1943 he served on many ships: the U.S.S. Rochester, U.S.S. Black Hawk, U.S.S. Beaver, U.S.S. Milwaukee, U.S.S. Arizona, U.S.S. Vega, U.S.S. Badger, U.S.S. Case, and the U.S.S. Erie, to mention a few. From time to time he served for brief periods on submarines at New London, Connecticut. He reported to the U.S.S. Maddox on October 31, 1942.
He sailed on many waters and called at many ports. He probably saw as much of this world as Marco Polo. He passed through the Panama Canal. He cruised the waters of Central and South America. He reached Luzon in the Philippines in the 1930s when the Philippines was an American possession as a result of the Spanish-American War. He was in the Philippines three years before MacArthur and Eisenhower arrived together.
In January 1931, he sailed from Manila to Hong Kong and from Hong Kong to Shanghai, China, at the mouth of the Yangtze River. In the 1930s Mao Zedong and Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek were battling for control of China. Meanwhile, in 1931, Japan had invaded Manchuria, an act that some historians regard as the start of the Second World War.
As the Second World War approached Burke served on destroyers that escorted oil tankers to Galveston, Texas, and the island of Aruba. Later he escorted convoys from New York and Norfolk to North Africa. On May 6, 1943, he was commended by his commanding officer for his battle action with an enemy submarine.
My brother whose name was also Maurice, my sister Eleanor, my sister Frances, and I called him Uncle Maurice. He was my father’s younger brother. My father’s name was Arthur P. Burke. He was born on February 28, 1898. Uncle Maurice was born more than a year later on August 26, 1899. Both attended the Belknap School, which was one block from their home on upper Atkinson Street. Later they attended the Christian Brothers Academy on Central Avenue. Neither attended the newly constructed Dover High School, which opened its doors in 1904-05.
We knew him as a sailor who occasionally came home to Dover. He would first stop at his mother’s house on Atkinson Street, then, he would walk over to our house on Union Street. He often brought gifts from faraway places such as China and Hawaii. At Christmas time he would sometimes arrive with a Christmas tree.
In height he was 5’8”, and in weight, about 140 pounds, with blue eyes, dark brown hair, ruddy complexion, and a tattoo of a “Kewpie” on his left forearm! He smoked many cigarettes and drank many beers.
He kept a little black book with sketchy notes that reveal the monotony, routine, frustrations, adventures, and romantic thoughts of a sailor away from home and in far-off places.
“Jan 23 1931 Got aboard Chaumont and she got under way at 12 o’clock for Hong Kong …
Jan 25 Arrived in Hong Kong at eight this morning. One day stop.
Jan 27 Arrived in Shanghai after battling storm all day and night. Cold as blazes. Two day stop Jan 30 Feb 1 Chaplain making up a sightseeing party to see Great Wall of China its so dam cold.
Feb 14 1931 Breezing along at fifteen knots the weather is beginning to get warmer as we start through the Formosa Strait.
Sept 19 Got a letter from Hazel. May 1 (1931) Day off being the day all red communists hold their meetings in Shanghai. Nobody is allowed ashore. All streets are patrolled by soldiers and marines.”
In his little black book, in blue ink, he kept the name of a young lady who once lived on Kirkland Street, and a young lady on Locust Street.
Sometimes, when he would be in our house for an hour or so, he would call for a taxi to take him to Portsmouth. Often, he would cut short his furlough and return to his assigned base. At times he was stationed in Boston. Sometimes he was stationed in New York or Norfolk or San Diego. He passed through New York enough times to maintain a permanent locker in the Grand Central Station. He was in the Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts, with a case of bronchitis. He served ashore during an earthquake in California in March 1933. Uncle Maurice enlisted in the Navy for the last time on October 9, 1939, one month after Hitler started the Second World War.
When he first joined the Navy, in 1920, it was not uncommon for some hotels to post signs that “dogs, cats, and sailors were not allowed.” The signs disappeared on December 8, 1941.
I last saw Uncle Maurice in the spring of 1943, probably in March or April. He had been home on leave. My father and I had accompanied him to the railroad station on Third Street. We probably went to the station by taxi. A southbound train pulled into the station. Uncle Maurice, after saying goodbye to us, boarded the train. The train was heading for Boston. His destination was probably New York or Norfolk, Virginia.
My father and I watched the train slowly pull away from the station. I can remember my father saying, “There goes poor Uncle Maurice.”