US Army Private Jerome McBurney may have been born in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1921 although there is relatively little family information concerning him. We do know that he enlisted in the US Army on February 4, 1944, and was sent to Camp Blanding, Florida for processing and orientation. He is also listed as being married with three years of high school.
He is also listed in the Escambia County, Florida casualty records under military service #34911870. His records also coincide with a "Jerome McBurney" who died on October 14, 1944, in Union County, Kentucky. By happenstance, this was also where Camp Breckinridge was located, which was a basic training facility as well as a prisoner of war camp for German and Italian soldiers. The hospital report connected to his name and service number indicates that he died from "Non-Battle or DNB" caused by a rifle shot to the chest. Coincidentally, Camp Breckinridge was known for its small arms, hand grenade, and mortar ranges in and around Morganfield, Kentucky. There were 33 ranges for rifle, pistol, tank subcaliber, and machine guns. There were also ranges for recoilless rifles, grenades, rockets, and explosives in addition to close combat courses.
Therefore, it is highly likely that the young soldier was accidentally killed on one of these firing exercises. At this point, there is no further information but hopefully, there are family members that might be able to solve the puzzle. Nevertheless, he died as a soldier of the United States while serving his country.
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