The SS John Burke was a liberty ship built in Oregon in late 1942.
After plying the waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans for nearly two years, she was carrying ammunition for artillery and mortars on the island of Mindoro.
On the morning of December 28, 1944. It was then that she was hit by a kamikaze whilst part of a 100-ship convoy off of the coast of Cebu and Bohol Islands.
The kamikaze's bomb exploded, practically vaporizing the ss John Burke and killing all 40 crew and 28 armed guards aboard.
