John C. Burke was born in Marietta, Ohio,  the son of John R. and Anna M. Burke.  Johnny Burke  attended Marion Elementary School and Marietta High School where he was outstanding athlete earning letters in track, basketball and football. World War II was raging when he was a teenager attending high school. Like many of his generation, he left high school in 1943 to serve his country. He enlisted in the United States Army and after basic training was assigned to Company D, 1^st Battalion, 24^th Infantry Regiment, APO 331.

At the start of World War II, the 24th IR was stationed at Fort Benning as School Troops for the Infantry School. They participated in the Carolina Maneuvers of October - December 1941. During World War II, the 24th Infantry fought in the South Pacific Theater as a separate regiment. Deploying on April 4, 1942 from the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, the Regiment arrived in the New Hebrides Islands on May 4, 1942. The 24th moved to Guadalcanal on August 28, 1943, and was assigned to the US XVI Corps. 1st Battalion deployed to Bougainville, attached to the 37th Infantry Division, from March to May, 1944 for Perimeter Defense Duty. The Regiment departed Guadalcanal on December 8, 1944, and landed on Saipan and Tinian on December 19, 1944 for Garrison Duty that included mopping up the remaining Japanese forces that had yet to surrender. The Regiment was assigned to the Pacific Ocean Area Command on March 15, 1945, and then to the Central Pacific Base Command on May 15, 1945, and to the Western pacific Base Command on June 22, 1945.

The Regiment departed Saipan and Tinian on July 9, 1945, and arrived on the Kerama Island Group off Okinawa on July 29, 1945. At the end of the war, the 24th took the surrender of forces on Aka Shima Island, the first formal surrender of a Japanese Imperial Army Garrison. The Regiment remained on Okinawa through 1946.

When Burke left military service in 1946 he attended Columbus Barber College, served three years apprenticeship in Zanesville, Ohio, then returned to Marietta in 1951 and opened Johnnie Burke’ Barber Shop at #4 Tiber Way. This was the period when the Civil Rights Movement began to gain momentum. African American Veterans of World War II demanded an end to Federal, State and local segregation and Jim Crow Laws!

Burke ascribed to the policy of Marietta Barber’s Union, and closed his shop on Wednesdays. Nearly every Wednesday he would visit a local plant or business to discuss the hiring of African Americans and granting opportunities for advancement. John Burke helped secure better employment opportunities for a number of African Americans in Washington County a decade before Jim Crow laws were banished in the United States.

Representing the NAACP, Burke was also concerned with fair housing practices, criminal justice and benefits for African American Veterans. When he perceived that African American Veterans were not welcome at local Veteran’s establishments, he formed American Legion Post 714 in Marietta. Post 714 welcomed all Veterans regardless of race or gender! Post was active in civic projects in Marietta, often donating time and funds to worthy causes.

There are still those in Marietta who remember that Johnny Burke gave them their first haircut. The Johnnie Burke Barber Shop had a mixed race clientele from the beginning. Some Marietta’s citizens, both  black and white fondly remember getting their first haircut at Johnnie Burke’s Barber Shop. Located near the business center of Marietta at #4 Tiber Way, Saturdays were a very busy time. People from around Washington County would come to town to do their shopping. Typically men would go the barber shop while women would go to grocery stores and other various shops. Johnnie Burke’s Barber shop was the hub of social activity on Saturdays. There were constant discussions about jobs, sports and other news about African Americans that were not covered by mainstream media.

After 1965 when the Civil Rights Movement had influenced a positive change of segregation policies all across the United States, John C. Burke continued to work at making Marietta and Washington County a better place for everyone to live. No person who truly needed help was refused is effort, no mater what their race or economic circumstance. When John C. Burke closed the doors to his barber shop in the late 1980s, the pages of a great chapter of social improvement in Washington County, Ohio had been written.