Joseph Burkett served in the U.S. Army as a major and Province Advisor to the Vietnamese Army, MACV, ADV TM #88. Major Burkett served for 27 months with combat engineers in World War II, taking part in the Normandy invasion and five other European campaigns. He was commissioned in France with the first eight-week officers' candidate school class to be graduated since World War I. He was a veteran of 11 months' duty in Korea, including more than 7 months on the front lines. His military career spanned 17 years. Major Burkett was one of three Americans killed on July 13, 1964 when Viet Cong guerrillas ambushed a government convoy as it passed through a dense jungle on Highway 13, 40 miles north of Saigon. He was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in World War II. He was also awarded a Silver Star with cluster, two Bronze Stars with clusters, the Combat Infantryman's badge and the Purple Heart with cluster in Korea.
