Thomas E. Bourke

Bourke was born on May 5, 1896, in Robinson, Maryland, and later attended high school in Boonsboro, Maryland. He later attended the St. Johns College, Annapolis, Maryland, and graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree. Following his graduation, Bourke served with the Maryland National Guard along the Mexican border, before he accepted the commission as second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on February 5, 1917.

While en route to Santo Domingo for his first tour, he and 50 recruits were diverted to St. Croix, becoming the first U.S. troops to land on what had just become the American Virgin Islands.

Post-World War I tours included service at Quantico, Parris Island, San Diego, and Headquarters Marine Corps. He also served at Pearl Harbor; was commanding officer of the Legation Guard in Managua, Nicaragua; saw sea duty on board the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48); and commanded the 10th Marine Regiment.

Following the Guadalcanal and Tarawa campaigns, General Bourke was assigned as the V Amphibious Corps artillery officer for the invasion of Saipan. He next trained combined Army-Marine artillery units for the XXIV Army Corps, then preparing for the Leyte operation. With Leyte secured, he assumed command of the 5th Marine Division which was planning for the invasion of Japan.

After the war's sudden end, the division landed at Sasebo, Kyūshū, and assumed occupation duties. With disbandment of the 5th Marine Division, General Bourke became deputy commander and inspector general of Fleet Marine Force Pacific. Bourke retired from the Marine Corps in 1946 with a rank of lieutenant general.

Bourke died in 1978. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

• NPS biography of Thomas Bourke
• Thomas Eugene Bourke, Lieutenant General, United States Marine Corps, Arlington National Cemetery profile.

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