CINCINNATI — Ed Burke can summarize D-Day on June 6, 1944, with a single word.
“Hell.”
Ahead of the war he kept an eye on world events and could see that one way or another he would wear a military uniform as part of the United States' role in World War II. As a result, he made a decision to join the ROTC program at Xavier University.
“I'm gonna get involved, no matter what I do. So it's much better to go in as an officer,” he said.
Eventually, he said General Patton himself would choose him to help lead the 821st Tank Destroyer Battalion attached to the 29th Infantry Division.
“I did what I was told,” Burke said. “General Patton was the fella that helped me along. Even though he took me from the rear from the field artillery to the tank. He was quite a character.”
After his landing on Omaha Beach, Burke had a role in every major battle the Allied forces faced to push back Germany.
He’s written three books covering his service and the various battles he faced over his four years of service that took him from the rank of lieutenant to a major.
“There's one chapter in his first book where he talks about when he got the Silver Star, and how he had across the Roer River at midnight under gunfire to find out where to place his tanks, and how he wasn't sure he was going to make it back,” said Pat Schaffer, the eldest child of five Burke and his wife Betty Lou had after he returned from the war.
Aside from the Silver Star, Burke would be honored with the Bronze Star along with the highest award from the French government for a foreign service member, the Knight of the Legion of Honor medal.
Nowadays, as Ed Burke celebrates his 104th birthday, he’s become a R.O.M.E.O.
“Retired Old Men Eating Out,” Burke explained of the group that meets weekly at a variety of restaurants on Cincinnati’s West End.
Burke sat down for an extended conversation about his service as part of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library Veterans History Project. You can watch the video on their YouTube channel here.
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