Veterans' Memorial Project
Burton Francis McBroom
Woodstock, IL
World War II
Lieutenant Burton attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for 2 1/2 years before transferring to Roanoke College in Virginia where he graduated in 1941 with a degree in Education. He was drafted into the Army in September of 1942 and served in the Army for one year and nine months. Burton reached the rank of Lieutenant and was a Tank Commander. On June 2, 1944, 4 days before the Normandy Invasion began, his unit had the Germans in retreat at Anzio, Italy, about 60 miles south of Rome. According to family members, Burton had given the order to leave all the tanks open and was standing up half way outside of the turret. The Germans were firing back while in retreat and Burton’s tank received a direct hit, and he was killed. Burton received the Purple Heart and was buried in a family plot at Woodstock, Illinois.
-submitted by Robert Alan McBroom, nephew and Robert Everett McBroom, brother
