Donald R. Burgett (April 5, 1925 – March 23, 2017) was a writer and a former World War II paratrooper. He was among the Airborne troopers who landed in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

early on the morning of D-Day. He was a member of the 101st Airborne Division, ("The Screaming Eagles"), and the

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 506th Infantry Regiment, originally designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (506th PIR) during World War II, is an airborne light infantry regiment of the United States Army. Currently a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regi ...

. Burgett served in Company A, 1st Battalion, 506th PIR as both a rifleman and a machine-gunner.

Life

Burgett was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up on the city's west side. In the opening paragraph of his memoir ''Currahee!'', he wrote that he was determined to follow his older brother Elmer, who had joined the Paratroops in 1942. Burgett volunteered to be called up as soon as he turned 18 the following year. On May 3, 1943, he reported to the Induction Center where he officially volunteered for the Paratroops, signing the statement "I do hereby volunteer to jump from a plane, while in flight and land on the ground via parachute." He went through Basic Combat Training in Kansas, completed Airborne training in Fort Benning, Georgia, and joined the 101st at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Burgett participated in Operation Overlord, parachuting into

as a member of the 506th PIR,

101st Airborne The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

. Burgett parachuted into the Netherlands, his second combat jump, as part of

Operation Market-Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...

with the 1st Allied Airborne Army, and fought for 72 days behind the German lines. After just a few weeks' rest, he was again sent into combat, this time at the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, where the 101st, along with Combat Command B of the U.S. 10th Armored Division and the all-African-American 969th Artillery Battalion (Cld)(155mm How Trac-D) held out against nine German armored divisions during the siege of

Bastogne Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogn ...

. Burgett went on to fight through

Operation Nordwind Operation Northwind (german: Unternehmen Nordwind) was the last major Nazi Germany, German offensive of World War II on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front. Northwind was launched to support the German Ardennes offensive campaign in ...

, on into Germany to the Ruhr Valley, the Rhineland, and Bavaria, where he helped capture Hitler's mountain retreat in southern Germany. While in action with the 101st, Burgett was wounded three times and had his

M1 rifle The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World War ...

shot out of his hands at least twice. Burgett lived in

Howell, Michigan Howell is the largest city and county seat of Livingston County, Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,489. The city is mostly surrounded by Howell Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Howell is part o ...

. He wrote four books and appeared in

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

specials on

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Burgett died on March 23, 2017. On Friday June 14, 2019, the Howell Post Office was renamed the "Sergeant Donald Burgett Post Office Building" in his honor. Howell mayor Nick Proctor also proclaimed June 14 as "Donald R. Burgett Day" in Howell.

Bibliography

Burgett wrote several memoirs of his time serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

. Some were based on unpublished accounts he wrote immediately after the war, while others were compiled in later years. * ''Currahee!: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy'', the story of Able Company of 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment * ''The Road to Arnhem'', a first hand account of

. * ''Seven Roads to Hell'' (

and the

) * ''Beyond the Rhine: A Screaming Eagle in Germany''

References

External links

"Donald R Burgett - A National Living Treasure"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgett, Donald 1925 births 2017 deaths American military writers United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Place of birth missing American memoirists Military personnel from Detroit