Burgett, Donald Robert, born 25-04-1925 in Detroit, Michigan, 
the son of Elmer Wilson Burgett a police officer in Detroit and his wife Lillian Mae, born Bruce, was a stay-at-home mom and Donald grew up on the city’s west side. Don had two brothers Ralph Lindberg Burgett 
a Korea veteran. In the opening paragraph of Don’s memoir Currahee!, 
Donald mentioned his determination to follow his older brother Elmer “Vern” Lavern Burgett 
who had joined the Paratroops in 1942. When my brother, Elmer, joined the paratroopers in the fall of 1942, I felt that I had to do the same. I had to be a paratrooper. But my parents would not sign a release so that I could join the military early. I went to my draft board and signed a “voluntary induction paper†when I was 17; I would be called up on my eighteenth birthday without my parents knowing that I had in fact volunteered. I was sworn in on April 05-04-1943-my 18th birthday-and entered active service 11–05-1943.
On 03-05-1943, Donald reported to the Induction Center, where he officially volunteered for the Paratroops 
by signing a statement: “I do hereby volunteer to jump from a plane, while in flight, and land on the ground via parachute.” He completed Basic Combat Training in Kansas, finished Airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and joined the 101st 
at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Basic Combat Training, also known as “boot camp,” is required of all new enlisted Soldiers to create a strong foundation for their Army experience and future goals. By the time you finish, you’ll be equipped with a wealth of skills and knowledge.
Robert Burgett participated in Operation Overlord, 
parachuting into Normandy as a member of the 506th PIR, 
under command of the Genberal Lieutenant Robert Frederick Sink 
of the101st Airborne Division. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune). A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.
Burgett on September 18th, parachuted into the Netherlands, his second combat jump, as part of Operation Market-Garden with the 1st Allied Airborne Army, and fought for 72 days behind the German lines.
Operation Market Garden was an Allied offensive against Nazi Germany in September 1944, towards the end of World War II. The operation, characterized by a large deployment of airborne troops to capture strategic bridges on Dutch territory, was ultimately a failure when the crucial bridge at Arnhem “Bridge too Far” could not be held. During the advance from Normandy, where the Allies had landed in occupied France on D-Day, British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery 
advocated encircling the entire German main front, which he considered defeated, from the north by crossing the rivers Maas, Waal and Nederrijn in the Netherlands. After some hesitation, Commander-in-Chief General Dwight Delano “Ike” Eisenhower 
agreed to this daring plan on September 10-1944..
After just a few weeks’ rest, he was again sent into combat, this time at the Battle of the Bulge, 
in the freezing cold and snow, where the 101st, along with Combat Command B of the U.S. 10th Armored Division 
(nicknamed “Tiger Division”) under command of Major General Paul Woolever Newgarden 
and the all-African-American 969th Artillery Battalion (Cld)(155mm How Trac-D) 
under command of Lieutenant Colonel. Hubert Dexter Barnes 
, 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 Adolf Hitler‘s 
mountain retreat the Berghof
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.
Death and burial ground of Burgett, Donald Robert “Don”.
Donald Robert Burgett lived in Howell, Michigan with his wife Twyla M. born Austin Burgett 
who died 06-09-2023 (age 89)Howell, Livingston County, Michigan, USA. The couple had no children.
Don wrote four books and appeared in History Channel specials on World War II. His life’s passion was being a very active member of several veterans’ organizations, including the VFW, American Legion Devereaux Post #141, Disabled American Veterans and the Military Order of the Cooties. Don was a local builder and an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. Burgett died on 23-03-2017, age 91, Howell, Livingston County, Michigan, USA.
On Friday 14-06-2019, 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
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.
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
Donald Robert Burgett is buried at the Great Lakes National CemeteryHolly, Oakland County, Michigan, VS Section 12B Site 614..
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