12 Facts About Romus Burgin

Romus Burgin was the author of the memoir Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific.

Romus Burgin is portrayed in the HBO miniseries The Pacific by Martin McCann.

Romus Burgin attended and graduated from Jewett High School in 1940 where he had been Captain of the football team.

Romus Burgin is buried at the Sardis Cemetery next to his parents.

Romus Burgin joined the United States Marine Corps on November 13,1942, during World War II and was assigned to the 9th Replacement Battalion.

Romus Burgin soon became a mortarman in K-Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, and fought in the Pacific War at Cape Gloucester, then alongside his friends Eugene Sledge and Merriell "Snafu" Shelton, on Peleliu, and Okinawa.

Romus Burgin was promoted to the rank of sergeant upon reaching Okinawa.

Romus Burgin was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions in the Battle of Okinawa on 2 May 1945, when he destroyed a Japanese machine gun emplacement that had his company pinned down.

Romus Burgin was going to be put in for a Silver Star by Captain Andrew "Ack-Ack" Haldane for taking out a pillbox on Peleliu, but Haldane was killed by sniper fire before he could submit it.

Romus Burgin did not speak about the war, not even to his family, until he met other veterans and decided to author his book.

Romus Burgin then became a fixture at veterans events and was one of seven grand marshals in the 2015 Dallas Veterans Day Parade.

Romus Burgin died on April 6,2019, at the age of 96 in Lancaster, Texas, and is buried next to his wife at Rawlins Cemetery.