S2 Allen Roger Burkhamer (WWII)

Seaman Second Class Allen Roger Burkhamer was born in Pennsylvania to Clovis and Gladney Bly (Price) Burkhamer. By 1940, Gladney was a widow and was living at 407 West Virginia Avenue in Nutter Fort with her mother, brother, and two sons: Leroy and Allen. Clovis had died in 1937. In the 1940 census, Gladney's occupation is listed as "House Work in Fairmont." Oddly, the 1940 census also reported that Leroy was 12 years old and Allen was 11 years old, which if accurate would have made him 16 at the time of his death on the U.S.S. Franklin.

No draft card can be found for Allen, which would make sense if he was lying about his age to join. The U.S. Navy's State Summary of War Casualties publication lists Mrs. Gladney Bly Burkhamer as living at 121 Jackson Street in Fairmont (close to where the transit authority building is now). She died in 1969 at the 407 West Virginia Avenue house.

Allen was serving on the U.S.S. Franklin when it was hit by two Japanese bombs. He is listed on the casualty sheet as "Killed in Action on this Date."

Seaman Second Class Allen Roger Burhamer is honored at Honolulu Memorial's Courts of the Missing and the Okinawa Memorial Park Peace Memorial. The Peace Memorial honors "all Japanese, American, British, Korean and Taiwanese soldiers who died as well as the names of all Okinawans, civilian and military, who died throughout the Pacific War" (Center for the Study of Pacific War Memories). While Allen is listed in the U.S. Navy's State Summary of War Casualties publication as being from Marion County, he is not listed on the Veteran's Square Memorial, nor is he listed on any Harrison County memorial that I could find. Outside of the 1940 census, no local records seem to exist for him.

U.S.S. Franklin:

"Afire and listing after she was hit by a Japanese air attack while operating off the coast of Japan, 19 March 1945. Photographed from USS Santa Fe (CL-60), which was alongside assisting with firefighting and rescue work. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives."

On March 19, 1945, the U.S.S. Franklin was attacked by bombers off the coast of Japan. Two bombs were dropped on the ship, to catastrophic effect.

From the U.S.S. Franklin Museum:

"Before dawn on 19 March 1945 the U.S.S. Franklin, who had maneuvered closer to the Japanese mainland than had any other U.S. carrier during the war, launched a fighter sweep against Honshu and later a strike against shipping in Kobe Harbor. Suddenly, a single enemy plane pierced the cloud cover and made a low level run on the gallant ship to drop two semi-armor piercing bombs. One struck the flight deck centerline, penetrating to the hangar deck, effecting destruction and igniting fires through the second and third decks, and knocking out the combat information center and airplot. The second hit aft, tearing through two decks and fanning fires, which triggered ammunition, bombs and rockets."

Modern estimates are that 807 men perished and 487 were wounded, including S2 Anthony Hoffman.

Joint Base Charleston reports: "The Franklin earned the designation as the most heavily damaged U.S. aircraft carrier to survive World War II and the ship and crew remain the most decorated in U.S. Navy history – earning two Medals of Honor, 19 Navy Crosses, 22 Silver Stars and 1,100 Purple Hearts.

Sources and Other Information:

• Burkhamer family in the 1940 Harrison County Census
• CVS 13 - USS Franklin: LOTS of photos, before, during, and after the damage
• Survival: The Story of the USS Franklin
• U.S.S. Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report No. 56 (declassified): gives extreme detail about what happened that day, transcribed from a book. See narrative D
• USS Franklin (CV-13) Memorial
• USS Franklin Museum Association
• The Okinawa Peace Memorial Park Project