Page 143 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2016

day,” he recalls.
Upon graduation he was sent to
Biloxi to the newly opened Keesler Army Air Base to be a training instructor. “During my assignment as an aircraft mechanic instructor, I was pulled out of the classroom at times
to work on special projects because
the school system was in its infancy,” he says. “Those projects included setting up a filing system and selecting items that could be used for training purposes.”
When civilians were hired to form
a typing pool, a certain young lady, Althea Martino, caught his eye.
“Her family didn’t like me because
I wasn’t a Biloxi boy,” he says. However, the young couple married later when Burkle returned from oversees duty and remained so for 67 years until Mrs. Burkle’s death five years ago. They became the parents of three daughters, Louana, Mary and Margaret.
Burkle remembers the Keesler Base as it was 75 years ago when barracks were being built, classes were held
in tents and hangars, the streets were paved with oyster shells, and there were few trees and no grass. “Fresh oyster shells were used on the streets and they stunk after a rain when the sun came out,” he said. “Partitions were hung around the sides of the hangars for offices and classrooms. Because the war had started, there were a lot of recruits. I also remember the long lines for meals and that we had Spam and powdered eggs for breakfast every day.”
At Keesler, Burkle went through five enlisted grades and was chosen to attend officer training school, moving up to 2nd Lt. As an officer, he was part of a unit that flew 255 combat missions in Italy, France and the Balkans. “I don’t feel proud; I feel lucky,” he says of his survival.
A young George McGovern, who would later become a U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate, was a member of Burkle’s unit.
Burkle was pleased to contribute to a historical book by Stephen Ambrose,
The Wild Blue: the Men and Boys who Flew the B-24s over Germany 1944-45, and is listed in the credits. A sentence in the book reads, “Lt. Henry Burkle in the ground crew had a crew chief for each plane and had several men under him,” and Burkle is quoted, “We didn’t know what sleep was.”
A plaque honoring the unit was placed in the Air Force Academy and Burkle is a charter member of the 455 Bomb Group Association. He was also interviewed for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.
Thirty days after the Korean War started, Burkle was recalled to active duty. He was sent to a B-36 heavy bomber facility in South Dakota. “This was a new bomber designed to fly
non stop to Russia and return to the U.S. without refueling,” he says. “We conducted numerous flight tests.”
His military career includes a stint assigned to the Strategic Air Command and selection to attend advanced management training. This training and several night courses allowed him to earn a Bachelor of Science degree.
After serving in two wars, Burkle worked on a top secret project for the Air Force. “It was above ‘top secret’ — so secret that we wore civilian clothes,” he said. “It was the ballistic missile program and received no publicity at the time.” he said.
During his military career, Burkle was awarded nine Battle Stars and two Presidential Distinguished Unit Medals.
He worked on NASA’s Apollo program as an employee of General Electric after leaving the Air Force. He calls this work assignment and work on the ballistic missile program the most enjoyable of his long career. “They were both so very interesting,” he said.
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November 2016 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 143
WWII veterans Henry Burkle and Tom Adams will serve as Grand Marshals for the 16th Annual Gulf Coast Veterans Parade on November 12. It begins at 11 a.m. in downtown D’Iberville.