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Camp Croft, South Carolina
US Army Infantry Replacement Training Center

Frank Burwell

submitted by nephew Larry Burwell, August 2010



Frank Burwell
 
 
Frank O. Burwell, my dad's brother, was stationed at Camp Croft after graduating from Wofford College in 1940 as a 2nd Lt. He was sent to the Pacific in mid 1941, was captured on Bataan, survived the death march, and spent the remainder of the war in a Japanese prison camp. He remained in inactive reserve status but was recalled to the US Army in 1948 and sent to Korea in 1952 with the 2d Infantry Division.  He was killed, along with a group of other officers, when an artillery shell landed in their tent in early morning during a briefing.

Here are links to two articles about him which appeared in the Spartanburg Herald newspaper:

Seven Spartanburg Officers Know to be in Philippines as Defense Ends - 11-Apr-1942
Captain Frank Burwell called by US Army - 23-Sep-1948

 

Larry sent these interesting pictures from Frank's brother James who served during WWII:

"My dad, James W. Burwell, when they found out [brother Frank] had been captured went ahead and enlisted at 20 rather than finishing college and they sent him to Europe in the Air Corps instead of sending to the Pacific in the infantry as he had requested. My dad was the youngest and graduated from High School is 1941." 

"He was in the 455th bomber squadron, the 323 bomber group and flew 60 bomber missions during the war. The first was on June 6th 1944. group was given the Presidential Citation."

 

TSgt James Burwell, radio operator/waist gunner on the Bat-Outa-Hell II

TSgt James Burwell, radio operator/waist gunner on the Bat-Outa-Hell II. Great nose art picture!

 

That's James Burwell going up into the nose gear hatch under the plane. His tail gunner took the picture.

 


Larry sent these pictures from his uncle James H. Moore who also served during WWII:

"James H. Moores story. He was a 1942 graduate of Wofford college, he also did some training at camp croft as did all OSC Wofford ROTC graduates did. He was in north Africa during 1943 as a Captain, before getting a bad case of tonsillitis and being sent home to Walter Reed hospital. He was assigned to the Pentagon for the rest of the war. When the movie "To Hell and Back" was being filmed at Fort Lewis, WA., he was assigned as military advisor to the movie with Audie Murphy. He knew Audie well, and these are the Paramount press photos he sent to my grandfather. He is the tall handsome soldier to Audie's left with the general, and to Audie's left in suits. Both my uncle Bob and Jim were big guys, 6'3" like myself. Uncle Jim died from hemorogic fever from Vietnam in 1965 after he retired a full Colonel as did my uncle Bob. These are great pictures in high detail. Three young men from Wofford college, four with my dad, who made their mark in WW2 or after and all four came home."

 


Also included are Larry's images of his Uncle Robert "Bob" Moore:

Robert S. Moore was a 1941 graduate of Wofford college as my uncle Frank Burwell. He was my mother's oldest brother. He was the 2nd regimental commander of the 1st Special Service force "the Devil's Brigade" and was the youngest Lt Col in the ETO during the war. Moore was born in 1919 in Spartanburg so in 1943 he was 24 and a regimental commander in Italy. The two pictures I have scanned of him in Italy one is autographed to me, the other is one of him and his executive officer in his jeep. Both pictures are from the Anzio campaign in Italy. The general beside uncle Bob by the burning tank is Brigadier General Robert T Frederick, FSSF commander and very highly decorated as well.