Robert Owen Burns Jr. was born December 10, 1920 in Utica, NY to Robert Burns (1887-1976) and Alicerose Stack (1893-1972). His parents were both from New York and they married in Utica, NY on October 14, 1916. The family lived at 37 Williams Street in Clinton, NY. Robert was the second of their four children which included older sister Rosemary (Kyle)(1919-2001) and younger sisters Joan (1924-2008) and Ursula (1925-2019). His father was a successful industrialist and pillar of the Clinton, NY community for many years.

Robert Jr. graduated from Clinton Central School and was a member of Dartmouth College's class of 1942. He belonged to Phi Gamma Delta and the Sphinx Senior Society. He was also a member of their varsity ice hockey team. When he registered for the draft on February 16, 1942 in Rome, NY he was 6' tall, weighed 165 pounds with hazel eyes and brown hair. He entered the service on September 9, 1942 as an Air Cadet with service number 7315678, received his pre-flight training at St. Lawrenece University, RPI and at Chapel Hill N.C. before getting his advanced training in Peru, Indiana. He was commissioned at the air training station in Pensacola, Florida and issued an officers service number O-351646.

He married Joyce Loftus on June 3, 1944 in Kirkland, NY. They have a daughter Ann Loftus. They were married only 10 months before Robert is killed in action. In January 1945 VF-30 was assigned to the USS Belleau Wood which had just completed repairs and was headed back into combat. There she joined Hornet, Wasp and Bennington for a raid on the Japanese home islands which included Iwo Jima and Okinawa. On February 16, 1945 she launched repeated strikes against airfields in the region and later on February 19 supported the invasion of Iwo Jima. By late February the carriers turned southwest for a strike on Okinawa. Her "Avengers" conducted numerous rocket attacks on Okinawa on March 1, 1945. It was likely during these attacks that Ens. Burns' plane was lost.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross "for indomitable courage in pressing home aerial attackes in the face of tremendous opposition." Officially, his plane was lost on March 1, 1945 during a strike against targets in the Okinawa, Jima, Nansei Shoto area. He was last seen, "heading toward an enemy destroyer lying off Naha town, Okinawa." His remains were never found and he is memorialized at the "Punch Bowl" in Honolulu, Hawaii. A cenotaph was placed in the St. Mary's Cemetery, Clinton, NY in his memory.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S., Navy Casualties Books, 1776-1941 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.

Dad's Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149862530/robert_owen-burns: accessed July 12, 2026), memorial page for Robert Owen Burns Sr. (30 Oct 1887–2 Jun 1976), Find a Grave Memorial ID 149862530, citing Saint Mary's Cemetery, Clinton, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by Paul R (contributor 47317162).

"Ensign Burns Is Dead, Navy States", The Clinton Courier, Clinton, NY, March 21, 1946, pg. 1.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149862421/robert_owen-burns: accessed July 12, 2026), memorial page for ENS Robert Owen Burns Jr. (10 Dec 1920–1 Mar 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 149862421, citing Saint Mary's Cemetery, Clinton, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by Paul R (contributor 47317162).

"Mass Honors Navy Pilot", Syracuse Herald-Journal, Syracuse, NY, March 19, 1946, pg. 3.

Naval History and heritage Command, DANFS >> B >> Belleau Wood I (CV-24); accessed at https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/belleau-wood-cv-24-i.html on July 13, 2026.

The National Archives at College Park, Maryland; College Park, MD, USA; Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798-2007; Record Group:: 24

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147

"Navy Lists Burns As Officially Dead", Utica Daily Press, Utica, NY, March 19, 1946, pg. 7.

"Rosemary Kyle Burns Is Married in Clinton", Daily Sentinel, Rome, NY, January 31, 1944, pg. 9.

United States Navy; Navy Department Library, Washington, D.C.; Ship Name: USS Belleau Wood; Ship Classification: CVL-24; Year(s): 1946

Supporting Documents