Don Burgett at Noville, 9/05

Okay, so things are super/ultra/mondo busy on the job of late.  And I know I’ve needed to post something/anything here, as I’ve slacked off a bit here at the end of the term.  The solution?  Get a clip. So without further yacking, here’s Don Burgett, engaging in a little first person history.  Oh yeah, buy his books.

Don Burgett and The War

If you happened to catch Episode 4 of Ken Burns’ The War (this is the invasion episode), you may have noticed the paratrooper/smashed pumpkin simile, with no author attributed. It was referenced as “one man described it as…”. That one man is Don Burgett, member of the 101st Airborne (A-1st-506), and noted author of four memoirs concerning the war in Europe.

So on page 87 of Currahee: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy, Burgett sets the scene: he has just landed and was getting out of this jump gear laying on his back as another plane flew overhead, “hedge-hopping” out of cowardice the author suggests, with paratroopers jumping. Burgett writes:

Their chutes were pulling out of the pack trays and starting to unfurl when they hit the ground. Seventeen men hit the ground before their chutes had time to open. They made a sound like a large ripe pumpkin being thrown down to burst against the ground.

It’s a shame Burns’ crew chose not to highlight this writer by name. I mean you can’t even say “paratrooper Don Burgett” and let others in the world google the name and discover his work? Please, visit his web site and buy his books.

Giving credit…there is just no substitute.

Don Burgett mp3

Many years ago, I read my first Burgett memoir. That was Currahee! A Screaming Eagle of Normandy. I wrote about that here at the ww2db. He is the author of three other books that document his experiences in the war, all of which are must reads for 101st Airborne students/researchers.

Just doing some surfing today and came across this mp3 of a Don Burgett speech hosted by the the World War II Veterans Committee, a group whose mission it is to “preserve the legacy of the ‘Greatest Generation.’” The audio of the speech is here. There are many highlights, including Burgett’s thoughts on Saving Private Ryan and Fritz Nyland. You mean SPR wasn’t a true story? I’m shocked.