After the 32nd Division was federalized in 1940, he participated in training exercises with his unit until late 1941, when he was discharged for being over the 28-year age limit.
[1] However, the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, led to Burr re-enlisting from Menasha, Wisconsin, and rejoining the 32nd Division.
On that day, he smothered the blast of an enemy-thrown hand grenade with his body, sacrificing himself to protect those around him.
[1] For this action, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor ten months later, on October 11, 1943.
[2] First Sergeant Burr's official Medal of Honor citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty.