A Fresh Old Snapshot of Dad for Father's Day 2026

For Father's Day, I'm remembering Dad (Harold D. Burk, 1909-1978). Sis and I rediscovered this snapshot while assembling content for a photo book of our family's first decade.

Dad has a big smile on his face while sitting at the Pulitzer Fountain, near the famous Plaza Hotel -- and opposite where the luxe Savoy Plaza Hotel once stood. 

Dad owned a travel agency located in the lobby of the Savoy Plaza Hotel. He and his brother (Sidney Burk, 1915-1995) arranged train and plane tickets for the hotel's well-heeled guests. 

The Savoy Plaza was the home of Trader Vic's, a trendy, upscale tiki restaurant that served inauthentic but fun "Polynesian" food. When we kids would visit Dad at his hotel, sometimes we would be treated to a meal at Trader Vic's. 

Alas, the Savoy Plaza was sold and resold not long after this photo was taken. It was then torn down to make way for the General Motors building. Dad's business never recovered and he was forced to retire before he was ready. 

As for Trader Vic's, the restaurant moved across to the Plaza and shone brightly for nearly 30 more years before closing its doors. 

Thinking of Dad with great affection on this Father's Day.

The WWII Military Service of the Burk Brothers

Pvt. Harold Burk & Sgt. Sidney Burk

For Memorial Day weekend, I'm so happy to have this "new" photo of my father on the left, Harold Burk (1909-1978) and his brother on the right, Sidney Burk (1914-1995).

It was just rediscovered by Harold and Sidney's nephew, my first cousin E, who kindly scanned it for me. He found it with Sidney's papers, and I've never seen it.

Dad was in Europe, Uncle in Hawaii

I know a good deal about Harold's WWII activities with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Below are his dog tags, his US Army buttons, and his Army Signal Corps patch.

Harold Burk World War II insignia, dog tags

However, I know a lot less about Sidney's WWII activities with the U.S. Army at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Cousin E thinks Sidney worked in the JAG office there.*

A cursory search turned up very little, because the vast majority of U.S. military records from the 20th century burned up in a devastating fire in 1973.

*Update: Sidney Burk was actually in the Army Air Force, a Staff Sgt with the HQ Squadron, 6th Air Svc Area Command, stationed near Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Cousin E found Sidney's DD214 Honorable Discharge document!

Obtaining a WWII Army Vet's Records

During this week's #OurAncestors chat on Twitter, the American Ancestors experts and Jan Murphy suggested I look into alternative record sources that might help me piece together Sidney's military career. On this rainy day, I'll start by watching this video from NARA.

Update: After seeing the informative video, I visited the NARA website to learn more about obtaining official military personnel files. More specifically, I know now I'll need particular details in order to identify the correct veteran, including exact name used in the military, service number, and more.

Honoring Harold and Sidney Burk's World War II military service on Memorial Day weekend, 2020.

Travel Tuesday: Harold the Travel Agent

Dad (Harold Burk) was a travel agent who did the most traveling of his life during WWII.

Here you can see brochures and timetables for trains and other transportation methods, next to his desk at the luxe Savoy Plaza Hotel, located at the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City, a ritzy address just across from the Plaza Hotel.

Dad started his WWII travels at Camp Upton on Long Island, where he was inducted in 1942 for what became 3 1/2 years in the US Army. He served from late 1944 to mid-1945 in "Central Europe" and in "Rhineland," according to his honorable discharge documents. His younger brother Sidney also served in Europe then.

We know Dad was stationed outside Paris for a time because he sent photos home to his mom, Henrietta Mahler Burk. For instance, the photo at left below shows him in uniform at a cafe outside Paris (and below right, Dad in Paris itself).

Harold Burk (right) and friend

After WWII ended, Dad came home, met Mom (possibly through a date arranged by two aunts, one on each side) and were married, followed by a Bermuda honeymoon.
  
Once Dad became a father, his travels usually consisted of getting onto the IRT subway to ride from the Bronx into Manhattan every day for work. His biggest post-war trip was in 1959, when he went to Hawaii for what turned out to be a very short stay, as I wrote last year here.