Sergeant First Class Burch was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 30 January 1951.

Burch was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.