Tony A BURNETT Jr
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ARMY SERIAL NUMBER | 19126110 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
AGE | 21 yo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF BIRTH | 1923 LOUISIANA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
STATE | Los Angeles CALIFORNIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
FAMILY | Single | |||||||||||||||||||||||
RANK | Pfc | |||||||||||||||||||||||
FONCTION | Paratroopers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
JOB before ENLISTEMENT | Barbers, beauticians, and manicurists | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 14 august 1942 Los Angeles CALIFORNIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
COMPANY | Company G | |||||||||||||||||||||||
BATTALION | 3rd Battalion | |||||||||||||||||||||||
REGIMENT | 501st Parachutiste Infantry Regiment | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DIVISION | 101st Airborne Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF DEATH | 6 june 1944 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
STATUS | KIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
PLACE OF DEATH |
Clainville - South of Etienville | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DATA PLAN |
Douglas C-47 - type A - s/n 43-30734 IB*P Chalk #16
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CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY from Colleville | |||||||||||||||||||||||
GRAVE |
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DECORATION |
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STORY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tony Allen Burnett, Jr. was born on August 16, 1923, in Louisiana to Tony Burnett, Sr. and Blanche Burnett. He lived in Oakdale for four years while his father ran a successful hotel business. When faced with financial misfortune, Mr. and Mrs. Burnett decided to pack up and move Tony and his sister, Emma, to Pasadena, California. Although the Burnett family faced financial issues as most did throughout the Great Depression, the children enjoyed the suburbs. Their father worked every available job, eventually becoming a police officer. In 1931, another sister, Florence, was born, but everyone called her “Boots.” Tony attended Emerson Elementary School and Woodrow Wilson Junior High School. Then he attended Pasadena Junior College, a local high school merged inside a community college. After three years, he dropped out of school to support his family, which now included Emma’s husband, Donald, and newborn daughter, Emilie. He worked a variety of jobs, ranging from a pin setter in a bowling alley and to a barbershop. He enlisted in the U.S. Army just two days before his 19th birthday. Tony child
Photo of Tony's family taken by him before his memorial rollout Training The dangerous job of a paratrooper attracted some of the bravest men. Lieutenant Colonel Robert F. Sink, the regimental commander of the 506thParachute Infantry Regiment, established a unique training style that both pushed individual soldiers and set a world record for marching stamina. Private First Class Burnett was part of the historic group of about 600 paratroopers who marched 115 miles to Atlanta in just three days when his regiment was relocated. Burnett continued his training at Fort Benning in Georgia and received his certificate of completion for parachute packing, ground training, and jumping, on December 26, 1942. Photo of Tony with classmates In a letter to his parents, Burnett’s zeal for his job as a paratrooper was evident; he wrote that he would jump every day if he could. After a brief stay in a hospital in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Private First Class Burnett transferred to the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, G Company They continued training at Fort Benning and at Camp MacKall in North Carolina until the regiment deployed to England in January 1944. The regiment trained in England and participated in some rehearsals to ensure that each soldier was prepared for the difficult task that lay ahead: the invasion of Normandy. D-Day The aircraft crashed and exploded in an apple orchard near the small village of Picauville. Only three of the 22 men aboard the C-47 were able to jump out before the crash: Staff Sergeant Word, Private Arthur E. Morin, and Private First Class Lucien A. Tetrault. Private First Class Burnett and his fellow soldiers had made the ultimate sacrifice hours before the seaborne invasion began. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
101st AIRBORNE DIVISION - SCREAMING EAGLES
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Crew of the Douglas C-47 - type A - s/n 43-30734 IB*P Chalk #16 |
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Captain | John Henry SCHAEFERS | Pilot | USAAF | Dead- Mem Park, Flat Rock MICHIGAN | |
2nd Lieutenant | Thomas Jr ASHWORTH | CoPilote | USAAF | Dead-im Am Colleville-sur-Mer - MASSACHUSETTS | |
1st Lieutenant | Joseph J SULLIVAN | Navigateur | USAAF | Dead-Cypress Hills Nat Cim - Rapatrié en 1949 | |
T/Sergeant | Melvin Elvil ISSERSON | Mecanicien | USAAF | Dead-Cim Am Colleville-sur-Mer - NEW YORK | |
S/Sergeant | David Mac KENZIE | Radio | USAAF | Dead-Cim Am Colleville-sur-Mer - MICHIGAN | |
Crew Paratroopers of 501st Parachutiste Infantry Regiment |
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S/Sergeant | Charles F WORD | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Retrieved - Could jump in time | |
Pfc | John A TETRAULT | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Retrieved - Could jump in time | |
Pvt | Arthur E MORIN | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Retrieved - Could jump in time | |
Sergeant | John A SCHADT | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Cim Am Colleville-sur-Mer - NEW YORK | |
Pfc | Harry B BROWN | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Calvary Cem. Indianapolis, INDIANA | |
Pfc | Anthony SALEMI | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-im Am Colleville-sur-Mer - DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | |
Pfc | Milo W LUDY | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Antioch Cem. Portland, INDIANA | |
Pfc | Ollie James DEHAVEN | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-DeHaven Cem. Lincoln Co, WEST VIRGINIA | |
Pvt | James REYNOLDS | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Oak Hill Cem. B.1 - Griffin, GEORGIA | |
Pvt | Michael A MASTRANDREA | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Long Island Nat Cem. East Farmingdale, NEW YORK | |
Pvt | Michael L PUSHCARE | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead - PENNSYLVANIA | |
Pvt | Corwin J RANDT | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Graceland Cem. Clintonville, WISCONSIN | |
Cpl | William A SOBIERALSKI | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Cim Am Colleville-sur-Mer - WASHINGTON | |
Pfc | Tony A BURNETT | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-im Am Colleville-sur-Mer - CALIFORNIA | |
Pvt | Felix J LOPACHIN | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Cim Am Colleville-sur-Mer - ILLINOIS | |
Pvt | Erland W CHELLIN | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Ridgewood Cem. Des Plaines, Cook Co, ILLINOIS | |
Cpl | Eugene W MORRISON | Paratroopers | 501st PIR | Dead-Cim Am Colleville-sur-Mer - OREGON | |
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Stele in memory of the C47 Douglas fallen June 6, 1944
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INFORMATION SOURCES | Francecrashes39-45.net - Aad.archives.gov - Marie-Thérèse COURAUD |
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PICTURE SOURCE | Aerosteles.net - Frédéric LAVERNHE |
PROGRAMMER | Frédéric & Renaud |