An Eagle Among Warriors
Members of Donald R. Burgett Web Site,
Over Veterans Memorial Day Weekend your host, Donald R. Burgett, spent five days in Washington, DC at the invitation of James Roberts, President/CEO of Radio America and founder of WWII Veterans Committee.
I have spent nine years of the ten years that the WWII Veterans Committee has been in existence, as member, Adviser, and speaker. This organization was founded for WWII Veterans in order to record the stories of those veterans that together would make up the greatest comprehensive and permanent record of a history of our greatest war.
In the last two years I suggested that James Roberts begin including all U.S, wars, our WWII vets are dieing at the rate of 1600 per day; in a few years The Committee would be hosting to an empty hall. This year Mr. Roberts included veterans from all wars from WWI, Frank W Buckley, America's last surviving Veteran of World War to have served in Europe. Mr. Frank Buckley presented a short speech and shortly after returned home where he passed away at the age of 109 years.
Donald R. Burgett presented his talk covering the Airborne actions, parachuting in D-Day Normandy 01:14 AM, 6 June 1944 to become the first troops to land in Normandy. And beyond to include the ordered bayonet charge made by men of the 506 Rgt. 13 June 1944 outside Carentan, France to stop the Nazi 17th SS Panzer and the Nazi Hermann Goering 6th Pcht Rgt. from splitting Omaha and Utah Beach in a counter-attack.
We were honored to have as guest speakers, Medal of Honor recipients, Walter Ehlers, Ed Freeman, Thomas Hudner, Walter Joseph Marm, George Joe Sakato Nisei)and Michael Thornton.
Bob Feller Major League baseball player who volunteered for service becoming a gun Captain on board the Battleship Alabama during the war. Also many well known WWII and veterans of Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, including seriously wounded vets straight from Walter Reed Hospital.
I was honored to be asked to co-place the wreath on the National WWII Memorial with two others, 11 Nov. 2007. Major Kim "KC" Campbell, Highly decorated female A-10 Fighter Pilot, Afghanistan and Iraq with 121 combat flight missions in close support of our ground troops. Major Kim Campbell's call name as per the initials "KC" stand for "Killer Chick."
The other person as co-person on our wreath placing was the nurse in the most well known photograph from WWII. She is the Nurse photoed in Times Square, New York City VJ Day 1944 as she was surprised with a heavy kiss by an American sailor.
The three of us together placed the wreath on our National WWII Memorial, an honor I will never forget.
The well known nurse surprised me immediately afterward by planting a kiss on my right cheek another high honor along with being co-wreath placer with Major Kim, "Killer Chick" Campbell, fighter pilot.
This was the greatest convention I have ever attended since my participation in Veteran's affairs. There were too many combat veterans on hand to list here in this post. I have been honored.
Donald R. Burgett
Over Veterans Memorial Day Weekend your host, Donald R. Burgett, spent five days in Washington, DC at the invitation of James Roberts, President/CEO of Radio America and founder of WWII Veterans Committee.
I have spent nine years of the ten years that the WWII Veterans Committee has been in existence, as member, Adviser, and speaker. This organization was founded for WWII Veterans in order to record the stories of those veterans that together would make up the greatest comprehensive and permanent record of a history of our greatest war.
In the last two years I suggested that James Roberts begin including all U.S, wars, our WWII vets are dieing at the rate of 1600 per day; in a few years The Committee would be hosting to an empty hall. This year Mr. Roberts included veterans from all wars from WWI, Frank W Buckley, America's last surviving Veteran of World War to have served in Europe. Mr. Frank Buckley presented a short speech and shortly after returned home where he passed away at the age of 109 years.
Donald R. Burgett presented his talk covering the Airborne actions, parachuting in D-Day Normandy 01:14 AM, 6 June 1944 to become the first troops to land in Normandy. And beyond to include the ordered bayonet charge made by men of the 506 Rgt. 13 June 1944 outside Carentan, France to stop the Nazi 17th SS Panzer and the Nazi Hermann Goering 6th Pcht Rgt. from splitting Omaha and Utah Beach in a counter-attack.
We were honored to have as guest speakers, Medal of Honor recipients, Walter Ehlers, Ed Freeman, Thomas Hudner, Walter Joseph Marm, George Joe Sakato Nisei)and Michael Thornton.
Bob Feller Major League baseball player who volunteered for service becoming a gun Captain on board the Battleship Alabama during the war. Also many well known WWII and veterans of Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, including seriously wounded vets straight from Walter Reed Hospital.
I was honored to be asked to co-place the wreath on the National WWII Memorial with two others, 11 Nov. 2007. Major Kim "KC" Campbell, Highly decorated female A-10 Fighter Pilot, Afghanistan and Iraq with 121 combat flight missions in close support of our ground troops. Major Kim Campbell's call name as per the initials "KC" stand for "Killer Chick."
The other person as co-person on our wreath placing was the nurse in the most well known photograph from WWII. She is the Nurse photoed in Times Square, New York City VJ Day 1944 as she was surprised with a heavy kiss by an American sailor.
The three of us together placed the wreath on our National WWII Memorial, an honor I will never forget.
The well known nurse surprised me immediately afterward by planting a kiss on my right cheek another high honor along with being co-wreath placer with Major Kim, "Killer Chick" Campbell, fighter pilot.
This was the greatest convention I have ever attended since my participation in Veteran's affairs. There were too many combat veterans on hand to list here in this post. I have been honored.
Donald R. Burgett
