First Lieutenant Burke was a fighter pilot ace in the Korean War. Upon returning to the United States, he was assigned as a pilot of a F-86 Sabrejet fighter bomber with the 60th Fighter Interceptor-Squadron at Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts. On 2 September 1952 he was killed when his aircraft crashed near his base.

Burke was awarded 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.