CENTRAL CITY – Kenneth Dunbar Burgess was the eighth child born to James Noel Burgess and Ann Elizabeth Bassam Burgess of Central City. His siblings were Mary Elisabeth Shemwell, Fred Burgess, Annie Laurie Simpson, Violet Marie Shemwell, Joseph Otto “Joe” Burgess, Grayce Mae Chenault, James “Gus” Burgess, and Howard Thomas Burgess.
Survivors include his nieces and nephew, Barbara Burgess Schwabe, Kendra Burgess Tanner, Howard Thomas Burgess, Jr., and Patricia Simpson Vlahovich; and several grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
Born May 7, 1914, Kenneth joined the U.S. Army in July, 1939, became an Army Ranger, and took part in Operation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy during World War II. In that invasion, Burgess was assigned to Company B, 4th Ranger Battalion (Darby’s Rangers). On September 25, 1943, he was declared missing in action in the vicinity of Sala, Italy. His body was not recovered and the War Department, now the Department of Defense, declared him non-recoverable on May 10, 1948.
However, his family never forgot him. Grand-niece Amy Simpson-Basting has a letter that Kenneth wrote to her father, Jimmy Simpson, in January, 1943. In the letter Kenneth told his nephew about being at Fort Dix, New Jersey freezing on the rifle range, saying he “nearly froze his belly off” in the prone position while qualifying. “I’m a expert rifleman”, he wrote. Barbara Burgess Schwabe remembers her dad, Howard, telling her about how he and his brother, Kenneth, spent all of their free time in the Green River as kids when they lived in South Carrollton. Jean Simpson, wife of the late David Simpson, has a picture of David’s uncle Kenneth that was very special to David.
The search to identify remains of mission military personnel continued. In 2020, the Department of Defense DNA Registry sought DNA samples from Kenneth’s niece Patricia Simpson Vlahovich, nephew David Simpson, and grand-niece Mary Ann McGehee. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced on September 13, 2024, that the DNA samples confirmed the identity of remains as being those of US Army Private First Class Kenneth D. Burgess.
Funeral services for PFC Kenneth Dunbar Burgess will be Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. CST at Tucker Funeral Home in Central City. Burial with military honors will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery in Central City. Visitation will be at 9:00 a.m. CST until time of funeral service at the funeral home. Online condolences may be made at www.tuckerfuneralhomes.com.
