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SGT Frederick A. Burness, Jr.
B Company, 720th MP Battalion, General Headquarters, Far East Command

Killed In Action ~ Missing In Action
22 April 1943 ~ Coral Sea, World War II

There are no photographs on file for SGT Burness.

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They Say,
our deaths are not ours,
they are yours,
they will mean what
you make of them.

They say,
we leave you our deaths,
give them some
meaning.

Archibald MacLeish
poet and WWI
veteran.

There is no contact information for the next of kin.


          In April 1943 Sergeant Frederick A. Burness, Jr. of B Company (410th MP Co.) was detailed to escort enemy prisoners of war from Townsville, (northeast) Australia to Port Moresby on the Island of New Guinea.

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On the 22nd of April 1943 word was received that the aircraft Sergeant Burness was using for his mission, the CAMILLA,  a Short S024 class Empire Flying Boat, registration number VH-ADU, contracted by Quanta's Empire Airlines to the Australian military, crashed during an attempted water landing during a weather emergency.

Sergeant Burness, all the guards and prisoners along with the crew of two, perished. No bodies were recovered.

Sergeant Burness was the first soldier killed in the Pacific Theater during World War II, from the 720th Military Police Battalion, and from B Company (410th Military Police Company).

Awards incomplete: (based on available information and standards for era) Purple Heart Medal, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, American Defense Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Meritorius Unit Commendation, World War II Service Lapel Button  ("Ruptured Duck").

The name, Frederick A. Burness, Jr., Sergeant, 720th MP Battalion, Missing In Action, is listed on a memorial monument located at the Manila American National Cemetery, Philippines.

Frederick A. Burness, Jr.

Sergeant, U.S. Army

Service # 33052912

720th Military Police Battalion

Entered the Service from: Pennsylvania
Died: 22-Oct-43
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Awards:

12 April 1948 The Commanding General of the United States Eighth Army authorized the temporary naming of the 720th Military Police Battalion installation in Tokyo, Japan as "CAMP BURNESS," until 1953.

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