Burnett, Clarence Dalph

1911 - 2002  (90 years)

• Name	Burnett, Clarence Dalph
  Birth	4 Jul 1911	McLeansboro, Hamilton County, Illinois   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Operated Burnett Hardware Store in Flora, Illinois
  Reference Number	BURN.C002
  _FGRAVE	29730243
  Military Service	World War II, USS Tennessee BB-43, United States Navy  [3]
  	Born on the fourth of July, 1911, Clarence was drafted and entered active service on May 21, 1942 at Albion, Illinois. Completed boot camp at Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois. Assigned to and fought aboard the battleship USS Tennessee BB-43, serving as a ship's storekeeper through 12 combat operations in the Pacific Theater of Operations. These included Tarawa, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Kavieng, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Anguar, Leyte, Surigao Straits, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Returned with his ship to moor at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on December 7, 1945. During his tour, Burnett witnessed 'The Big T' hurl the better part of the 9,347 14-inch rounds, 46,341 shells from her 5-inch guns, and more than 100,000 rounds from her anti-aircraft batteries at the enemy since the first Pearl Harbor Day, four years before. Honorably discharged on December 12, 1945 at the Naval Personnel Separation Center, Great Lakes, Illinois. Earned The Combat Action Ribbon (retroactively authorized by congressional legislation in 1999), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 silver and 2 bronze battle stars, WWII Victory Medal, and The Philippine Liberation Medal with 1 bronze battle star. Source: http://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque.aspx?honoreeID=913674
  		USS Tennessee (BB-43), United States Navy
  		Clarence Dalph Burnett (1911-2002) World War II, USS Tennessee BB-43, United States Navy
  		American Campaign Medal, United States
  		Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, United States Armed Forces
  		Asiatic-Pacific Theater, World War II
  		Combat Action Ribbon, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps
  		Naval Station Great Lakes, North Chicago, Illinois
  		Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
  		Philippine Liberation Medal, Republic of the Philippines
  		United States Navy
  		World War II (1939-1945)
  		World War II Victory Medal, United States Military
  		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007 On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. …
  		Flag of the United States, 48 Stars (1912-1959) In 1912, two stars were added to the United States flag, representing Arizona and New Mexico, bringing the total number of stars to 48. They were arranged in six rows of eight stars each. American fighting men would fight under this flag during four wars: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the beginning of the Vietnam War. (In 1959, a…
  		Combat Action Ribbon, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps
  		Military Service Ribbons, Clarence Dalph Burnett (1911-2002) Contributed by Carl Wayne Gray
  		American Campaign Medal, United States Armed Forces
  		Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, United States Armed Forces
  		Philippine Liberation Medal, Republic of the Philippines
  		United States Navy Shield
  		World War II Victory Medal, United States Military
  		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007, page 01 of 26 pages On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. This…
  		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007, page 02 of 26 pages On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. This…
  		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007, page 03 of 26 pages On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. This…
  		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007, page 07 of 26 pages On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. This…
  		At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
  Death	7 Jun 2002	Olney, Richland County, Illinois   [1, 4]
  Burial	Elmwood Cemetery, Flora, Clay County, Illinois   [1]
  		Headstone, Burnett, Viola M. and Clarence D.
  Person ID	I19596	Carl Wayne Gray Research
  Last Modified	17 Jan 2024

  
  

  Family 1	Raley, Marjorie A.,   b. 1 Mar 1921, Flora, Clay County, Illinois d. 21 Nov 2012, Flora Gardens Care Center, Flora, Clay County, Illinois (Age 91 years)
  Marriage	Y  [2]
  Family ID	F8846	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	31 Jan 2023

  
  

  Family 2	Leach, Viola M.,   b. 17 Jun 1915   d. 25 Apr 1962 (Age 46 years)
  Marriage	7 Dec 1935  [1, 2]
  Age at Marriage	He : 24 years and 5 months - She : 20 years and 6 months.
  Children	+ 1. Burnett, Gayla J.,   b. 25 Jan 19__   2. Burnett, Tim C.   3. Burnett, Pamela Kay,   b. 29 Aug 1950   d. 29 Aug 1950 (Age 0 years)
  Family ID	F8840	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	31 Jan 2023

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 4 Jul 1911 - McLeansboro, Hamilton County, Illinois Death - 7 Jun 2002 - Olney, Richland County, Illinois Burial - - Elmwood Cemetery, Flora, Clay County, Illinois  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  World War II Service Born on the Fourth of July, 1911, in McLeansboro, Illinois, he was drafted and entered active service on May 21, 1942 at Albion, Illinois. Completed Boot Camp at Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois. Assigned to and fought aboard the Baattleship USS Tennessee BB-43, serving as a Ship's Storekeeper through 12 combat operations in the Pacific Theater of Operations. These included Tarawa, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Kavieng, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Anguar, Leyte, Surigao Straits, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Returned with his ship to moor at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on December 7, 1945. During his tour, Burnett witnessed 'The Big T' hurl the better part of the 9,347 14-inch rounds, 46,341 shells from her 5-inch guns, and more than 100,000 rounds from her anti-aircraft batteries at the enemy since the first Pearl Harbor day, four years before. Honorably discharged on December 12, 1945 at the Naval Personnel Separation Center, Great Lakes, Illinois. Earned the Combat Action Ribbon (retroactively authorized by Congressional legislation in 1999), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 Silver and 2 Bronze Battle Stars, WWII Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal with 1 Bronze Battle Star. Civilian Life Before the war, Clarence was employed in McLeansboro, Illinois, the town of his birth, as manager of a variety store owned by W. L. Arnold from January 1935 till he went into military service. Coincidently, on December 7 (a date of prominence twtwice more in his life) of 1935 he married his first wife, Viola. After the war, they settled in Flora, Illinois, and raised three children: Pamela K, Gayla J., and Tim C. Burnett. Clarence was employed by the venerable Bowman's Hardware store on East North Avenue (now the site of a mini-park developed by Doug and Jan Phillips). Not long after employment there, Clarence realized his dream of being a self-employed store owner by buying Bowman's store and proudly changing the name to Burnett's Hardware. Clarence had always been an avid model airplane builder and flier (he was expert at remote controlled models, and all things lesser). So he added model airplanes and associated equipment to his normal line of hardware and other staples. Many a youth of Flora spent a lot of their allowances and earned dollars learning the model airplane skills that Clarence was always glad to share with them. Clarence and Viola were active members of the First United Methodist Church of Flora. Sadly, Viola passed away "Before Her Time" on April 25, 1962 at the age of 47. A number of years later, Clarence remarried (Marjorie Raley Graham), later retired, and remained an avid model airplane builder for the rest of his days.

  
  

• Sources

  [S5375] http://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Burnett, Viola M. and Clarence D., (http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Burnett&GSiman=1&GScid=105559&GRid=29730243&) (Reliability: 2). [S5376] http://www.findagrave.com, Obituary, Burnett, Clarence Dalph, (http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Burnett&GSiman=1&GScid=105559&GRid=29730243&), none. (Reliability: 2). [S5377] http://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Burnett, Clarence D., (http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Burnett&GSiman=1&GScid=105559&GRid=29730243&) (Reliability: 2). [S2980] http://www.findagrave.com, Obituary, Deem, Carey E, 33, (http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Mayo&GSiman=1&GScid=105559&GRid=65821854&), none. (Reliability: 2).