Burns, William Robert
Navy Reserves Carpenter’s mate 2nd class

William Robert Burns from Columbus County Charlotte, North Carolina .

Spouse: Jennie Ann Efird Allen

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, June 8, 1944
Death details: On June 30, 2025, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of U.S. Navy Carpenter’s Mate 2nd Class William R. Burns, missing from World War II. Burns entered the U.S. Navy from North Carolina and served aboard the destroyer USS Glennon (DD-620). At the time of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, the Glennon operated in the Baie de la Seine off the French coast. The destroyer patrolled for enemy craft and provided naval gunfire in support of Allied troops on the shore near Quineville. On June 8, the Glennon’s stern struck a German mine in shallow water, badly damaging the ship and causing it to lodge in the sea floor. The majority of the crew was forced to abandon ship, but a small contingent, including Burns, stayed aboard for salvage operations. On June 10, a German artillery battery near Quineville found the ship’s range and opened fire. One salvo struck the Glennon amidships and cut off all power. Following another hit, the Glennon’s commander ordered the crew to abandon ship before it eventually rolled and sank. Burns was lost during the shelling and was among 25 sailors missing between June 8 and 10. In 1957, pieces of the Glennon were hauled ashore by salvagers. A local resident discovered human remains in the wreckage. These remains could not be identified at the time and were interred as unknowns. In 2022, the Department of Defense and the American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed the remains for comparison with missing sailors from the Glennon. To identify Burns, DPAA scientists used modern forensic techniques and circumstantial evidence.
Cemetery: Ardennes American Cemetery

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency