# Romus Burgin

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{{Short description|United States Marine and author (1922–2019)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Romus Valton Burgin
| nickname      = Burgie
| image         = RV Burgin.png
| caption       = 
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1922|8|13}}
| birth_place   = [Jewett, Texas](/source/Jewett%2C_Texas), U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2019|4|6|1922|8|13}}
| death_place   = [Lancaster, Texas](/source/Lancaster%2C_Texas), U.S.
| burial_place  = Rawlins Cemetery, Lancaster, Texas
| burial_label  = Place of burial
| allegiance    = [United States](/source/United_States)
| branch        = [United States Marine Corps](/source/United_States_Marine_Corps)
| service_years = 1942–1945
| rank          = [Sergeant](/source/sergeant)
| unit          = K Company, [3rd Battalion](/source/3rd_Battalion_5th_Marines), [5th Marines](/source/5th_Marine_Regiment_(United_States)), [1st Marine Division](/source/1st_Marine_Division_(United_States))
| battles       = '''[World War II](/source/World_War_II)'''<br/>[Battle of Cape Gloucester](/source/Battle_of_Cape_Gloucester)<br/>[Battle of Peleliu](/source/Battle_of_Peleliu)<br/>[Battle of Okinawa](/source/Battle_of_Okinawa)
| awards        = [Bronze Star Medal](/source/Bronze_Star_Medal) <br/> [Purple Heart](/source/Purple_Heart)
| spouse        = {{marriage|Florence Riseley|1947}}
| children      = 4
}}

'''Romus Valton "R. V." Burgin''' (August 13, 1922 – April 6, 2019)<ref name=TodayBooks>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna36280358 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406063602/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36280358/ns/today-today_books/wid/7468326/ |url-status=live |archive-date=April 6, 2012 |title=Marine recounts brutal war in Pacific 'Islands': Former Marine R.V. Burgin writes about fighting in WWII |at=TODAY books |publisher=MSNBC Interactive – MSNBC.com |date=April 9, 2010 }}</ref> was a [United States Marine](/source/United_States_Marine_Corps) and American author. As a young man, he served in the [Pacific Theater](/source/Pacific_War) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II).

Burgin was the author of the memoir ''Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific'' (with William Marvel).<ref name=TodayBooks /><ref>{{cite book|author=Burgin, R. V. |title=Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific|year=2010 |publisher=NAL Caliber |isbn=9780451229908 |url=https://archive.org/details/islandsofdamnedm00burg |url-access=registration }}</ref> Burgin is portrayed in the [HBO](/source/HBO) miniseries [''The Pacific''](/source/The_Pacific_(TV_miniseries)) by [Martin McCann](/source/Martin_McCann_(actor)).<ref name=NPR-2010-03 /><ref name=HC-2010-04-03 />  Burgin himself appears in documentary footage during the miniseries.<ref name=GranberryM-2010-03-14/>

==Early life and family==
Burgin was born to Joseph Harmon Burgin and Beulah May ([née](/source/Married_and_maiden_names) Perry) Burgin in [Jewett, Texas](/source/Jewett%2C_Texas).<ref name=TodayBooks /><ref>{{cite news |title=Veteran wants war tales of the Pacific to be remembered |newspaper=[The Dallas Morning News](/source/The_Dallas_Morning_News) |date=June 26, 2005 }}</ref> He attended and graduated from Jewett High School in 1940 where he had been Captain of the [football](/source/American_football) team.

Burgin's younger brother, Joseph ("Joe" or "J.D.") Delton (March 24, 1926 – February 17, 1945) joined the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army), after changing his year of birth from 1926 to 1925, and was sent to Europe,<ref name=BurginRV/><ref>[https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=225&cat=all&tf=F&q=Burgin&bc=&sort=24996%20desc&rpp=10&pg=19&rid=7364549&rlst=8581905,8527687,4515030,8578190,1548852,7088219,7268932,7364549,7470216,7231734 Burgin, Joe D; ASN: 38482046 ]. – Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 – 1946 (Enlistment Records). – U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.</ref>  as a member of Company "C", 274th Infantry Regiment, [70th Infantry Division](/source/70th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)).<ref>{{citation |title=274th Infantry Regiment Unit Rosters: COMPANY C |url=http://www.trailblazersww2.org/rosters/C_274.pdf |format=Adobe Acrobat *.PDF |publisher=70th Infantry Division Association }}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=274th Infantry Regiment |url=http://www.trailblazersww2.org/units_274.htm |publisher=70th Infantry Division Association }}</ref>  Joseph died in Alsace-Lorraine on February 17, 1945, when he was killed by artillery fire near the river [Saar](/source/Saar_(river)) and the town of [Forbach](/source/Forbach), as they moved east toward [Saarbrücken](/source/Saarbr%C3%BCcken) on the other side of the river, as part of a push against the [Siegfried Line](/source/Siegfried_Line).<ref name=BurginRV/><ref>{{citation |title=Casualty Listing: A-C |url=http://www.trailblazersww2.org/casualties_A_C.htm |publisher=70th Infantry Division Association }}</ref><ref>{{citation |chapter=Approach to the Siegfried Line |chapter-url=http://www.trailblazersww2.org/history_siegriedline.htm |publisher=Battery Press (c/o 70th Infantry Division Association) |title=US Seventh Army Report of Operations |year=1988 |pages=678–686 }}</ref>  He is buried at the Sardis Cemetery next to his parents.<ref>{{citation |title=Sardis Cemetery A-F – Leon County, Texas |url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/leon/cemeteries/sardisa-f.txt |publisher=USGenWeb Archives }}</ref>

==Military career==
Burgin joined the [United States Marine Corps](/source/United_States_Marine_Corps) on November 13, 1942, during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) and was assigned to the 9th Replacement Battalion.  He soon became a [mortarman](/source/Mortar_(weapon)) in K-Company, 3rd Battalion, [5th Marines](/source/5th_Marine_Regiment_(United_States)), [1st Marine Division](/source/1st_Marine_Division_(United_States)) (K/3/5),<ref name=TodayBooks /> and fought in the [Pacific War](/source/Pacific_War) at [Cape Gloucester](/source/Cape_Gloucester_(Papua_New_Guinea)),<ref name=TodayBooks /> then alongside his friends [Eugene Sledge](/source/Eugene_Sledge) and [Merriell "Snafu" Shelton](/source/Merriell_Shelton),<ref name=TodayBooks /> on [Peleliu](/source/Peleliu),<ref name=TodayBooks /> and [Okinawa](/source/Okinawa_Island).<ref name=NPR-2010-03>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124580077 |title=Veteran R.V. Burgin Fought In 'The Pacific' |website=NPR.org |date=March 11, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=HC-2010-04-03>{{cite news |title=Texan's Pacific war memoir used for HBO mini-series |newspaper=[Houston Chronicle](/source/Houston_Chronicle) |date=April 3, 2010}}</ref>  Burgin was promoted to the rank of sergeant upon reaching Okinawa.<ref name=BurginRV>{{citation |author1=Burgin, R. V. |author2=with William "Bill" Marvel |year=2010 |title=Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-451-22990-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/islandsofdamnedm00burg }}</ref><ref name=DunnS-2010-03-07>{{citation |author=Dunn, Si |title=Book review: 'Islands of the Damned' by RV Burgin |newspaper=[The Dallas Morning News](/source/The_Dallas_Morning_News) |date=March 7, 2010 }}</ref>

He was awarded a [Bronze Star](/source/Bronze_Star) for his actions in the [Battle of Okinawa](/source/Battle_of_Okinawa) on 2 May 1945, when he destroyed a [Japanese](/source/Imperial_Japanese_Army) machine gun emplacement that had his company pinned down.<ref name=NPR-2010-03 />  He also was to be recommended for a [Silver Star](/source/Silver_Star) by [Captain Andrew "Ack-Ack" Haldane](/source/Andrew_Haldane) for destroying a pillbox on Peleliu, but Haldane was killed by [sniper](/source/sniper) fire before he could submit the recommendation.<ref name=TodayBooks />

==Personal life==
In 1946, Burgin began working for the [United States Post Office](/source/United_States_Post_Office). He was employed there until his retirement in 1977.<ref name=BurginRV/> While on leave in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) during World War II, Burgin met an Australian woman, Florence Riseley. They married in [Dallas](/source/Dallas) on January 29, 1947.<ref name=BurginRV/><ref>{{cite book|title=Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 – The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War |url=https://archive.org/details/brotherhoodofher0000sloa |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/brotherhoodofher0000sloa/page/21 21] |author=Sloan, Bill |year=2005 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-8460-8 }}</ref>  The couple had four daughters.<ref name=DunnS-2010-03-07/><ref name=GranberryM-2010-03-14>{{cite news|author=Granberry, Michael |title='The Pacific,' book spotlight Lancaster veteran's battle story |newspaper=[The Dallas Morning News](/source/The_Dallas_Morning_News) |date=March 14, 2010 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Marine who helped inspire 'The Pacific' has died |url=https://taskandpurpose.com/history/marine-rv-burgin-pacific-hbo/ |access-date=25 February 2021 |agency=[Task & Purpose](/source/Task_%26_Purpose) |publisher=[The Dallas Morning News](/source/The_Dallas_Morning_News) |date=15 April 2019}}</ref>

Burgin died on April 6, 2019, at the age of 96 in [Lancaster, Texas](/source/Lancaster%2C_Texas), and is buried next to his wife at Rawlins Cemetery.<ref>[https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/romus-burgin-obituary?pid=192128804 "Romus Valton Burgin Obituary"]</ref>

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|date=2010|author1=Burgin, R. V. |author2=Marvel, William "Bill" |title=Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-451-22990-8|url=https://archive.org/details/islandsofdamnedm00burg}}

==See also==
*[List of U.S. Marines](/source/List_of_U.S._Marines)
*[List of non-fiction writers](/source/List_of_non-fiction_writers)
*[List of writers](/source/List_of_writers)
*[List of people from Texas](/source/List_of_people_from_Texas)
*[Eugene Sledge](/source/Eugene_Sledge)
*[Merriell Shelton](/source/Merriell_Shelton)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}
{{The Pacific (miniseries)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgin, Romus}}
Category:1922 births
Category:2019 deaths
Category:People from Jewett, Texas
Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
Category:United States Marines
Category:20th-century American memoirists
Category:Writers from Texas
Category:People from Lancaster, Texas
Category:Military personnel from Texas

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Romus Burgin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romus_Burgin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romus_Burgin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.