Joseph Raymond Burke was born on April 8, 1918, in Illinois. He was the son of Agnes Louise "Jean" Dazy Ricci. He was married to Geraldine Frances DeWolfe Burke. He was employed in the manufacture of electrical machinery and accessories before enlisting in the service on March 31, 1942. He served in the 785th Bomber Squadron, 466th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Top Turret Gunner of B-24H #41-29466, nicknamed ''Dark Rhapsody'' during World War II.

On March 23, 1944, the B-24H Liberator Dark Rhapsody, piloted by Lieutenant Donald C. Griffin, was lost in a midair collision over the German-occupied Netherlands. The aircraft had departed RAF Attlebridge in Norfolk, England, on a bombing mission against German military targets. It was the 466th Bombardment Group's second combat mission, and the formation encountered poor visibility and unfavorable weather conditions while en route to Germany. At approximately 9:50 a.m., while flying over the Dutch province of Overijssel at an altitude of about 7,000 meters (23,000 feet), Dark Rhapsody collided with another B-24H Liberator from the same squadron, #42-52587, nicknamed Shoo Shoo Baby, piloted by Second Lieutenant Robert Lee Garrett. The two aircraft were part of a formation of approximately 50 bombers operating under difficult weather conditions. Both Liberators sustained catastrophic damage and plunged into the lakes and marshlands near Sint Jansklooster and Vollenhove. All nine crew members aboard Dark Rhapsody were killed in the crash, along with six of the ten airmen aboard Shoo Shoo Baby, bringing the total death toll to 15. The remaining four crew members of Shoo Shoo Baby survived the collision.

SSgt Burke is now buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, www.b24.net, evasioncomete.be, weremember.abmc.gov