July 12-14, 2022 Collectible Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/13/2022
World War II US Navy KIA Purple Heart Medal engraved to a sailor who served aboard the ill-fated SS John Burke. John Elmer Olson was born on December 23, 1919 in Seattle Washington. Olson attended high school through the 1930s and like every young man of the time, he registered for the draft on July 1, 1941 at the age of 21. Five months later, Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese naval and air forces, leading Olson and thousands of other Americans to join the military or assist in the war effort any way they could. Olson chose to fulfill his duty and join the United States Navy in order to serve his country at a time when his country needed him the most. Before he was sent overseas, Olson married Marie Travis, and the two tied the knot on March 19, 1943. Afterwards, Olson served several duties stateside before he was assigned to the SS John Burke, a Liberty Ship which was named for John Burke, the 10th Governor of North Dakota. The hull was launched in December of 1942 and the War Shipping Administration placed the ship under the management of the Northland Transportation Company. Olson's job was to serve as one of the 28 armed guards which would help defend the lightly armed supply ship against enemy forces. Serving in the vital but often unsung role of a transport ship, the SS John Burke and her crew transported the materials of war between the United States and the areas of the Pacific Theater, often sailing at Pearl Harbor, Australia, Guadalcanal, Hollandia, and Manaus during the war. Olson's final trip aboard the SS John Burke took place in late 1944 when the ship departed his hometown of Seattle, Washington for Guam, where he and the rest of the crew spent several days loading munitions for the invasion force on the island of Mindoro. After being loaded down with volatile munitions, the ship departed with the 100-ship "Uncle Plus 13" convoy, which was bound for Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. The convoy arrived at Leyte the night of December 27 ready to resupply American forces in the Area. Once the convoy arrived in the area, Japanese forces were alerted to the presence of the large supply convoy shortly before daybreak on December 28th. The Japanese realized 2 things: first that the convoy would be an immense target, and second that if the ships could be thwarted, then there was a chance that US forces on Mindoro would be essentially cut off from vital supplies and be vulnerable. Another important factor was that the weather was not on the American's side. Foul weather and undesirable conditions around Leyte prevented the usual morning US Combat Air Patrol flight from providing cover to the slow and vulnerable Liberty Ships. As a response to the presence of the convoy, the Japanese dispatched a flight of 6 kamikaze aircraft from Cebu Island which headed for the convoy on the morning of December 28, 1944 at about 09:50. The flight included 3 A6M Zero fighters of the 201st Air Group, each carried a 250kg bomb. Olson and his shipmates joined the other ships in the convoy at general quarters shortly after the dawn weather report indicated that there would be no air cover. The crews waited anxiously for the inevitable arrival of Japanese aircraft. Once the first aircraft appeared on the convoy's radar orders were given to begin evasive maneuvering. At about 10:18, the log of the USS Bush reported that about 7 or 8 planes commenced attacking the convoy from astern. The American ships immediately returned fire, realizing the desperation of their Japanese adversaries. At 10:19 Bush reported that 1 enemy plane had crashed in flames astern of the convoy in an attempted suicide dive. A minute later at 10:20 Bush reported that enemy planes were attacking the various units in the rear portion of the convoy with 2 planes that had crashed into the SS William Sharon and SS John Burke. An eyewitness account states that one of the Japanese pilots, flying an Aichi D3A "Val", selected the SS John Burke as his target. The pilot dove through heavy anti-aircraft fire, and with no intention of pulling out of his steep dive and despite the damage to his aircraft, the Val smashed into the Burke at high speeds, crashing between Burke's #2 and #3 cargo holds. After the impact, a brief flash of fire was observed by several ships in the convoy and for several seconds only smoke could be seen billowing from her hull. Shortly after, a huge pillar of fire shot out of Burke's cargo hold, followed by a massive plume of white smoke. Within seconds, all attention was focused on the Burke where an enormous fireball erupted as the entire cargo of munitions detonated, incinerating the ship. For several seconds, Burke was not visible under a huge mushroom cloud of fire, smoke, and debris. The explosion was so significant that it damaged several ships nearby due to the tremendous force from the blast and flying fragments. The shock wave rocked the entire convoy, and even caused several ships to report that they had been torpedoed. At 10:21 Bush reported that the enemy places had ceased their attack and began to withdraw. Search efforts commenced immediately after the attack but proved to be fruitless as it was reported that there was no evidence of the ship or survivors. In just 2 minutes 1 ship and 68 lives had ceased to exist, including John Olson, who had just turned 25 5 days prior. Today, the little remains and fragments of the SS John Burke's rest at around 1,500 feet below the surface, in the vicinity of the location the ship was last seen, in the strait between Negros, Siquijor Islands, and Mindanao, Philippines. Obviously no remains of any of the crew were ever recovered and all 68 crewmen are listed as KIA. Olson and the Liberty Ship crews are the unsung heroes of World War II and without them the war would have surely dragged on for many more years. Although he was never found, Olson's Purple Heart Medal preserves his legacy, as well as the legacy of the SS John Burke. The medal is a 1944 US Mint Naval Purple Heart Medal type II constructed of bronze, with a Sterling planchette ring, Plastic heart, and Sterling full wrap brooch. All, with the exception of the plastic heart, are gold gilded. The medal is handsomely engraved on the reverse "JOHN E. / OLSON / S1C, / USN" in US Navy style engraving. Olson's Purple Heart is accompanied by its 3/8" wide ribbon bar and is housed in its short coffin case. The medal is accompanied by a file of research regarding John Olson and his ship, the SS John Burke. It is notable that there is a video which recorded the tremendous explosion of the SS John Burke and can be found in a variety of online sources. CONDITION: The medal exhibits slight tarnishing around the edges. Case opens and correctly stops half way. The case is also very clean and has not been handled much since the war. Overall very good. This is an extremely significant World War II Purple Heart Medal from a tragedy which cost the lives of John Olson and his fellow Sailors. It is imperative that his legacy as well as the legacy of the SS John Burke is preserved for future generations. JLD
Item Dimensions: 6" x 4"