Donald Burgett

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

Donald Burgett
Born(1925-04-25)April 25, 1925
Detroit, Michigan
DiedMarch 23, 2017(2017-03-23) (aged 91)
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1943-1945
Unit506th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
101st Airborne Division
Battles/warsWorld War II: Operation Overlord
Operation Market-Garden
Battle of the Bulge

Life

Burgett was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up on the west side of Detroit. In the opening paragraph of Currahee!, he stated that his older brother Elmer had joined the Paratroops in 1942, and that he, Donald, was determined to follow his older brother. 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." In Kansas he went through Basic Combat Training, and then reported to Fort Benning, Georgia for Airborne training. After completion of his training at Fort Benning, he joined the 101st at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana.

Burgett participated in Operation Overlord, parachuting into Normandy as a member of the 506th PIR, 101st Airborne. Burgett parachuted into the Netherlands, his second combat jump, as part of Operation Market-Garden[1] 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, 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) successfully held out against nine German armored divisions during the siege of Bastogne. Burgett went on to fight through Operation Nordwind, 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 shot out of his hands at least twice. He was one of only eleven men out of the original 200 in his company to survive from D-Day in Normandy to the war's end.

Burgett lived in Howell, Michigan. In addition to writing four books, he has also done a number of History Channel specials on World War II. Burgett died on March 23, 2017.[2]

Bibliography

Burgett wrote several memoirs of his time serving in the United States Army during World War II. 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 Operation Market-Garden.
  • Seven Roads to Hell (Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge)
  • Beyond the Rhine: A Screaming Eagle in Germany

References
  1. The Road to Arnhem: A Screaming Eagle in Holland, Donald Burgett, 1999, Presidio Press,ISBN 0-89141-682-X
  2. Daily, Livingston. "Donald Burgett, a World War II vet and author, dies at 91". USA TODAY.
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