Romus Burgin

Romus Valton "R.V." Burgin (August 13, 1922 – April 6, 2019)[1] was a United States Marine and American author. As a young man, he served in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

Romus Valton Burgin
Nickname(s)Burgie
Born(1922-08-13)August 13, 1922
Jewett, Texas, U.S.
DiedApril 6, 2019(2019-04-06) (aged 96)
Lancaster, Texas, U.S.
Place of burial
Rawlins Cemetery, Lancaster, Texas
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Marine Corps
Years of service1942–1945
RankSergeant
UnitK Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
*Battle of Cape Gloucester
*Battle of Peleliu
*Battle of Okinawa
AwardsBronze Star Medal
Purple Heart
Spouse(s)
Florence Riseley
​
(m. 1947)​
Children4

Burgin was the author of the memoir Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific (with William Marvel).[1][2] Burgin is portrayed in the HBO miniseries The Pacific by Martin McCann.[3][4] Burgin himself appears in documentary footage during the miniseries.[5]

Early life and family

Burgin was born to Joseph Harmon Burgin and Beulah May (née Perry) Burgin in Jewett, Texas.[1][6] He attended and graduated from Jewett High School in 1940 where he had been Captain of the football team.

Burgin's younger brother, Joseph ("Joe" or "J.D.") Delton (March 24, 1926 – February 17, 1945) joined the United States Army, after changing his year of birth from 1926 to 1925, and was sent to Europe,[7][8] as a member of Company "C", 274th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division ("Trailblazers").[9][10] Joseph died in Alsace-Lorraine on February 17, 1945, when he was killed by artillery fire near the river Saar and the town of Forbach, as they moved east toward Saarbrücken on the other side of the river, as part of a push against the Siegfried Line.[7][11][12] He is buried at the Sardis Cemetery next to his parents.[13]

Military career

Burgin joined the United States Marine Corps on November 13, 1942, during World War II and was assigned to the 9th Replacement Battalion. He soon became a mortarman in K-Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (K/3/5),[1] and fought in the Pacific War at Cape Gloucester,[1] then alongside his friends Eugene Sledge and Merriell "Snafu" Shelton,[1] on Peleliu,[1] and Okinawa.[3][4] Burgin was promoted to the rank of sergeant upon reaching Okinawa.[7][14]

He was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions in the Battle of Okinawa on 2 May 1945, when he destroyed a Japanese machine gun emplacement that had his company pinned down.[3] He also was going to be put in for a Silver Star by Captain Andrew "Ack-Ack" Haldane for taking out a pillbox on Peleliu, but Haldane was killed by sniper fire before he could submit it.[1]

Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
1st row Bronze Star Medal with V Device Purple Heart Combat Action Ribbon
2nd row Navy Presidential Unit Citation with two Service stars Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal American Campaign Medal
3rd row Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three Service stars World War II Victory Medal Navy Occupation Service Medal

Personal life

In 1946 he began working for the United States Post Office and was employed there until he retired in 1977.[7] While on leave in Melbourne during World War II, Burgin met an Australian woman, Florence Riseley. They married in Dallas on January 29, 1947.[7][15] The couple had four daughters.[14][5]

Burgin did not speak about the war, not even to his family, until he met other veterans and decided to author his book. Burgin then became a fixture at veterans events and was one of seven grand marshals in the 2015 Dallas Veterans Day Parade.[16]

Burgin died on April 6, 2019, at the age of 96 in Lancaster, Texas, and is buried next to his wife at Rawlins Cemetery.[17]

Bibliography
  • Burgin, R.V.; Marvel, William "Bill" (2010). Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-451-22990-8.

See also

References
  1. "Marine recounts brutal war in Pacific 'Islands': Former Marine R.V. Burgin writes about fighting in WWII". MSNBC Interactive – MSNBC.com. April 9, 2010. TODAY books. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012.
  2. Burgin, R.V. (2010). Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific. NAL Caliber. ISBN 9780451229908.
  3. "Veteran R.V. Burgin Fought In 'The Pacific'". NPR.org. March 11, 2010.
  4. "Texan's Pacific war memoir used for HBO mini-series". Houston Chronicle. April 3, 2010.
  5. Granberry, Michael (March 14, 2010). "'The Pacific,' book spotlight Lancaster veteran's battle story". The Dallas Morning News.
  6. "Veteran wants war tales of the Pacific to be remembered". The Dallas Morning News. June 26, 2005.
  7. Burgin, R. V.; with William "Bill" Marvel (2010), Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific, Penguin, ISBN 978-0-451-22990-8
  8. Burgin, Joe D; ASN: 38482046 . – Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 – 1946 (Enlistment Records). – U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
  9. 274th Infantry Regiment Unit Rosters: COMPANY C (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF), 70th Infantry Division Association
  10. 274th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division Association
  11. Casualty Listing: A-C, 70th Infantry Division Association
  12. "Approach to the Siegfried Line", US Seventh Army Report of Operations, Battery Press (c/o 70th Infantry Division Association), 1988, pp. 678–686
  13. Sardis Cemetery A-F – Leon County, Texas, USGenWeb Archives
  14. Dunn, Si (March 7, 2010), "Book review: 'Islands of the Damned' by RV Burgin", The Dallas Morning News
  15. Sloan, Bill (2005). Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 – The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War. Simon and Schuster. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-7432-8460-8.
  16. "The Marine who helped inspire 'The Pacific' has died". The Dallas Morning News. Task & Purpose. April 15, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  17. "Romus Valton Burgin Obituary"
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