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Burris, James, COL.
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Contact Info
Last Address Tulsa
Date of Passing Nov 21, 2008
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
After retiring from the Army, he was senior vice president of human relations for BSAF North America in Parsippany, N.J. He retired from BSAF in 1986 and established a human resources firm that was a consultant to the chemical industry.
In recent years, Colonel Burris worked as executive vice president with Boyden International, an executive search organization, as a consultant until he retired because of illness.
The former Lutherville resident, who had lived in Havre de Grace since 2006, was an avid reader of military history.
Colonel Burris was a communicant of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 232 St. Thomas Lane, Owings Mills, where a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 3.
A funeral service with full military honors will be held at 1 p.m. Feb. 5 at Arlington National Cemetery.
Surviving are his wife of 30 years, the former Margaret Contessa; four daughters, Elizabeth Harwood and Martha C. Berry, both of Chattanooga, Tenn., Cecilia Porter of Cummings, Ga., and Sarah Stone of Charleston, S.C.; a brother, Robert Burris of Aurora, Colo.; and nine grandchildren. An earlier marriage to Marion Grandy ended in divorce.
From FindAGrave.com
James Curtis, of Havre de Grace, MD, and Edgartown, MA, died at home on November 13, 2008, after a long battle with cancers related to Agent Orange. The son of Hazel Marriott and John Cecil (Skeet) Burris, Jim was born in Tulsa, OK in 1930 and never forgot growing up during the dust bowl days and the ravages of the Depression. Despite 25 years of Military Service in various command and staff positions around the globe, Jim maintained his great affection for Oklahoma and continued connections with childhood friends through the years. He chronicled his experiences from that era in history in a book that will be completed by his wife, Marge. Mr. Burris attended Tulsa Central High School and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1954. He graduated from the Army's Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS and earned a Master's Degree in Psychology from Louisiana State University while in the service. Decorated for valor in infantry combat, LTC Burris was awarded 3 Silver Stars, 2 Legion's of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, 2 Bronze Star medals for valor, 39 Air Medals for combat assaults in Vietnam, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal and various awards and decorations from Allied Nations. He also earned the Ranger Tab and Master Parachutist's Badge. Following retirement from the military in 1973, Mr. Burris held several executive positions in the private sector and also established his own consulting firm. During his military and private sector careers Jim Burris was sought as a mentor, coach and confidant, and was appreciated for his candor, wisdom and counsel by many who knew him. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, the former Margaret Contessa; and 4 daughters; 9 grandchildren; his brother Robert and family of Aurora, CO. A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m., December 3, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Owings Mills, MD and Burial with Full Military Honors will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at 1 p.m. on Thursday, February 5, 2009.
Other Comments:
Col. James C. Burris, Vietnam War veteran
November 21, 2008
Col. James Curtis Burris, a highly decorated career Army officer who fought in the Vietnam War, died Nov. 13 at his Havre de Grace home of cancers related to exposure to Agent Orange. He was 78.
Colonel Burris, who was born and raised in Tulsa, Okla., graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1948.
Born into a military family, Colonel Burris was the grandson of two Civil War veterans and the son of a World War I veteran. He enlisted in the Army in 1948 and was selected to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1954.
Assigned to the infantry, he served in Korea and South and Central America. He completed three combat tours of duty in Vietnam during the 1960s, where he was a combat leader with the 101st Infantry Division. During his 25 years of service, Colonel Burris held numerous command assignments throughout the world.
He was decorated for valor and heroism during combat with two Bronze Stars, three Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, a Distinguished Flying Cross and 39 Air Medals for combat assaults in Vietnam.
Other decorations included the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Ranger Tab and Master Parachutist's Badge, plus numerous decorations from foreign governments.
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description This campaign was from 30 January to 1 April 1968. On 29 January 1968 the Allies began the Tet-lunar new year expecting the usual 36-hour peaceful holiday truce. Because of the threat of a large-scale attack and communist buildup around Khe Sanh, the cease fire order was issued in all areas over which the Allies were responsible with the exception of the I CTZ, south of the Demilitarized Zone.
Determined enemy assaults began in the northern and Central provinces before daylight on 30 January and in Saigon and the Mekong Delta regions that night. Some 84,000 VC and North Vietnamese attacked or fired upon 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 autonomous cities, 64 of 242 district capitals and 50 hamlets. In addition, the enemy raided a number of military installations including almost every airfield. The actual fighting lasted three days; however Saigon and Hue were under more intense and sustained attack.
The attack in Saigon began with a sapper assault against the U.S. Embassy. Other assaults were directed against the Presidential Palace, the compound of the Vietnamese Joint General Staff, and nearby Ton San Nhut air base.
At Hue, eight enemy battalions infiltrated the city and fought the three U.S. Marine Corps, three U.S. Army and eleven South Vietnamese battalions defending it. The fight to expel the enemy lasted a month. American and South Vietnamese units lost over 500 killed, while VC and North Vietnamese battle deaths may have been somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000.
Heavy fighting also occurred in two remote regions: around the Special Forces camp at Dak To in the central highlands and around the U.S. Marines Corps base at Khe Sanh. In both areas, the allies defeated attempts to dislodge them. Finally, with the arrival of more U.S. Army troops under the new XXIV Corps headquarters to reinforce the marines in the northern province, Khe Sanh was abandoned.
Tet proved a major military defeat for the communists. It had failed to spawn either an uprising or appreciable support among the South Vietnamese. On the other hand, the U.S. public became discouraged and support for the war was seriously eroded. U.S. strength in South Vietnam totaled more than 500,000 by early 1968. In addition, there were 61,000 other allied troops and 600,000 South Vietnamese.
The Tet Offensive also dealt a visibly severe setback to the pacification program, as a result of the intense fighting needed to root out VC elements that clung to fortified positions inside the towns. For example, in the densely populated delta there had been approximately 14,000 refugees in January; after Tet some 170,000 were homeless. The requirement to assist these persons seriously inhibited national recovery efforts.
