Pittsburgh native killed in World War II now accounted for

A Pittsburgh native who was killed during World War II is now accounted for.

Sgt. Sidney Burke, 22, was a member of the 22nd Bombardment Squadron, 341st Bombardment Group, 10th Air Force and served as the Armor-Gunner of a B-25C “Mitchell” bomber during a mission in Burma in 1943.

His aircraft crashed during a low-altitude bombing raid, and he was declared missing in action after the war.

In 1947, the American Grave Registration Service recovered four sets of remains from a common grave near Kyunpobin, Burma, believed to be from an “American crash.” These remains were interred as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In January 2022, the Department of Defense approved the disinterment of these remains for further analysis. Scientists from the DPAA used dental, anthropological, and isotope analysis, along with mitochondrial DNA analysis, to identify Burke’s remains.

He was officially accounted for in April 2025 and buried in Bridgeville in September.

Burke’s name is listed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to signify that he has been accounted for.

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