Medal of Honor Monday: Marine Corps Pfc. Robert C. Burke A Marine from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, cautiously approaches a damaged hut during Operation Allen Brook. The Viet Cong dominated the small villages on Go Noi Island in Vietnam. MAY 17, 2021 | BY KATIE LANGE, DOD NEWS Marine Corps Pfc. Robert C. Burke took charge in 1968 when his unit was pinned down by intense enemy fire in Vietnam. Burke didn’t make it out alive, but his actions earned him the Medal of Honor. Burke was born Nov. 7, 1949, in Monticello, Illinois, and lived with his parents, four sisters and two brothers. As a teen, he worked after school helping his dad build fences for area farmers. His mother told reporters later that he had dreamed of being a Marine since he was a young boy.