A Metal Case and the Purple Heart: The Remarkable story of a Hero of the Great War

A Tribute to My Grandfather and Namesake, Howard G. Burton

​by Steve Burton
​

My father’s father was a very interesting man: a man of principle, a man of purpose, a man focused on his family and his success in his career. A methodical thinker, he was not impulsive and was sensitive to the needs of those around him—family, employees, his community, and his country.


He was called to serve in World War I in France and was wounded twice in the arm, receiving the Purple Heart for his heroism and wounds. Grandpa Burton fought in the final and most decisive offensive of the First World War, the Battle of the Argonne Forest. The campaign was waged from September 26th to November 11, 1918, resulting in an armistice with the Germans.


World War 1; The Great War
Notable figures of this offensive, both famous and infamous, included General Pershing, Eddie Rickenbacker, Alvin York, Colonel George S. Patton, Hermann Göring, and the Richthofen Flying Circus, although their leader, the Red Baron, had been killed in battle when his plane was shot down and crashed in April of the same year.


Researching a lengthy account of the various battles of the campaign, which involved 600,000 Americans, 40,000 tons of supplies, and 4,000 pieces of artillery, one cannot truly imagine the chaos, logistics, weather conditions, strategy, fear, heroism, and the enormous loss of life and severe casualties that the troops endured to ensure Germany did not take over the world and impose its doctrine and racial and ethnic prejudices. Unfortunately, the armistice did not force the Germans to stop producing war materials, and with the rise of Hitler and his Nazi Party, we were again at war with Germany in the 1940s as World War II was fought to protect America and recapture Europe from Hitler.


The casualties of World War I, which was fought utilizing trench warfare, were enormous. The total military and civilian deaths were 20 million, and 21 million were wounded. Further evidence of the deaths from this war is presented at the cemetery at Romagne, the largest American cemetery in Europe.

Called To Serve
Howard G. Burton, of the 77th New York Regiment, was shot in the right chest. However, his metal glasses case slowed the bullet and saved his life. He was later felled by shrapnel from an exploding shell, which penetrated his leg and hip. These injuries heavily impacted his health until his passing in the 1950s. He spent months recuperating in a military hospital in New York.


I have his Purple Heart and his glasses case that bears the bullet hole. I also have a book presented to my Grandfather, written by "Buck Private" McCollum, which details the lost battalion of the American forces fighting in France at the end of the war. This book is titled The History and Rhymes of the Lost Battalion. It was presented to Grandpa Burton in Canastota on September 15th, 1932, and personally signed by the author.


My Grandfather never spoke of the war and never complained about his limitations. He was kind but firm and would appear quiet and sullen at times. He became a civic-minded small-town entrepreneur who owned a coal business in Canastota that morphed into a fuel oil, gasoline, kerosene, lumber, and hardware business. when my father, Frederic C. Burton, returned from the Gold Coast in Africa to Canastota to partner with his father in Burton Fuel and Supply. Prior to the war, Grandpa was a postal clerk and newspaper journalist. I have an article he wrote for the newspaper. He loved his White Owl cigars, the aroma of which permeated the home on High Street in Canastota.


I am proud to be named after my Grandfather and to be familiar with his sacrifices that helped preserve our freedoms. He endured incredible wartime conditions in his efforts to ensure our family's and others' a better life, free of tyranny.


Let us not forget those veterans of all wars, who deserve our support, thanks, and remembrance for all that they’ve done for America.