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Warbirds Unlimited expresses our deepest thanks to James H.D. Burns. (who served in the US Army for 21 years; 75th Ranger Regiment, 1st Ranger Battalion, Special Operations Command) for graciously sharing these details and pictures of his father's (James A. Burns) service during WWII. We are eternally grateful to both father and son for their service to our country.
James A. Burns was born 1917 in Ehrengeld, Pennsylvania and raised in South Fork, Pennsylvania. In 1941 when he was drafted into service, his occupation was listed as "Professional Fighter-Boxer", and he initially served in the Infantry. |
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By 1942 James had joined the US Army Air Corps and graduated from Aerial Gunner School, in Harlingen, TX and was promoted to Sargeant October 21, 1942.
Staff Sargeant Burns records reveal service in the European and Atlantic Theaters serving in Cuba, North Africa and Italy while earning a Presidential Citation with 1 Cluster, a Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 7 Oak Leaf Clusters, and Good Conduct Medal.
Staff Sargeant Burns left the U.S. June 30, of 1943 and arrived in Italy December 9, 1943; he left Africa April 27, 1944 and arrived in the U.S. April 30, 1944. He was Honorably discharged August 15, 1944 at the AAF Convalescent Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fl.
March 17, 1943 S/Sgt Burns made an emergency parachute jump into the South Atlantic Ocean enroute to the European theater of Operations as evidenced by the certificate below:
March 17, 1943 S/Sgt Burns made an emergency parachute jump into the South Atlantic Ocean enroute to the European theater of Operations as evidenced by the certificate below:
Staff Sargeant Burns received the Distinguished Flying Cross while serving in the 15th Air Force 5th Wing, on a mission over Regensburg, Germany, February 25th 1944, mission #230. This mission as detailed in history from the 15th Air Force is shown below:
The citations for S/Sgt Burns awards are shown below:
Individual awards of the Air Medal/clusters are shown here in slide show format:
Note: Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC)
- Purpose: Because an individual can earn the same medal multiple times over their career (like receiving five separate Air Medals for 25 combat missions each), the military uses ribbon devices to avoid giving out identical physical medals repeatedly.
- Bronze Clusters: A small bronze oak leaf cluster is pinned onto the ribbon (or the suspension ribbon of the medal) to represent the second and each subsequent award.
- Silver Clusters: A silver oak leaf cluster is awarded to represent a 6th, 11th, 16th (and so on) award. It is used to save space, acting as a shortcut to represent exactly five bronze clusters.
S/Sgt. Burns Decorations:
Enjoy the slideshow below with pictures from the S/Sgt. James A. Burns collection: