Herbert Hemby Burnette

Herbert Hemby Burnette was born July 8, 1914, in Farmville, N.C., the eldest son of Sylvester Herbert Burnette (1872-1943) and Absley Smith Burnette (1887-1949). He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in August 1941, at Fort Bragg, N.C. and completed training at Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama, and Scott Field in St. Clair, Illinois, graduating in April 1942 as a radio operator mechanic. Burnette received further training at the Army Gunnery School in Harlingen, Texas, graduating in May 1942, as an aerial gunner. He also trained at Army Air Corps fields in Spokane, Washington, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Tucson, Arizona, rising to the rank of technical sergeant.

In October 1942, Burnette was sent to Europe with the 8^th Air Force B-17 as part of Allied efforts to clear German and Italian forces from North Africa. After his Flying Fortress, the “Hun Hunter,” was shot down, the War Department reported Burnette missing in action, February 16, 1943, north of St. Nazaire, France. St Nazaire was an important pen for German U-Boats and had bombed in Burnett’s mission. Burnette was later declared dead on the date he went missing in action. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal for having completed five bomber missions over enemy occupied areas.

In April 1947, the Farmville Veterans of Foreign Wars commemorated local sons who died in WWII by naming their post the Burnette-Rouse Post, in honor of Herbert Hemby Burnette and Herman Rouse –the first and last native sons of Farmville killed in WWII.

Burnette’s sacrifice was also commemorated October 3, 1949, at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Saint Louis, Missouri in a joint gravestone bearing his name and those of other crewmen from his fallen Army Air Corps B-17 – Erban L. Jones, Ralph A. Livengood, Carl E. Olson, Jr., and Michael J. Stanko. Burnett’s name is also included, along with eight others, on a monument in Molac, France, remembering American crewmen shot down in their efforts to defeat German forces occupying France.

Sources:

• “Alumni.” Teco Echo. August 23, 1943. P. 4. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37925
• American War Memorials Overseas: Molac. https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=762&MemID=1058
• “Farmville Boy Wins Air Award: Was Formerly Reported As Missing.” Farmville Enterprise. April 2, 1943. P. 1. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064750/1943-04-02/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Burnett+Burnette+Burnetts
• “Farmville Boy Reported Missing In European Area: His Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Burnett, Notified Wednesday; Have Three Boys In Service.” Farmville Enterprise. February 26, 1943. P. 1. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064750/1943-02-26/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Burnett
• “Freshman Class Roll.” Tecoan. 1932. P. 131. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15337
• “Lt. Clay Burnette Reported Missing.” Farmville Enterprise. February 11, 1944. P. 1. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064750/1944-02-11/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Burnett+Burnette
• “Lt. Vernon Tyson Home From War Front; Alumni In Various Branches Of Service.” Teco Echo. August 23, 1943. Pp. 1, 4. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37925
• “Record Of WII Heroes Honored By Garden Club.” Farmville Enterprise. February 14, 1947. P. 1.https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064750/1947-02-14/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Burnetts+Hemby
• “V.F.W. Post Honors First And Last Farmville Sons To Die In World War II.” Farmville Enterprise. April 4, 1947. P. 1. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064750/1947-04-04/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Burnette

Related Materials

Herbert Hemby Burnette’s Draft Registration Card. Image Source: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. Ancestry.com.

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