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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953; World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: H Company, Headquarters Section, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division; Historical Section, Headquarters Company, 1st Marine Division
  • Battles & Campaigns: Iwo Jima
  • Location of Service: Sasebo, Japan; Korea; Iwo Jima; Japan; Hawaii; Camp Pendleton, California; Fort Pierce, Florida; Parris Island, South Carolina
  • Highest Rank: Master Sergeant; Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/80835

View full service history

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • William McDowell Burgin Collection

Names

  • Burgin, William McDowell
  • Veterans Museum at Balboa Park
  • Appleton, Rick

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • California

Headings

  • -  Burgin, William McDowell
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: H Company, Headquarters Section, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Iwo Jima; Japan; Hawaii; Camp Pendleton, California; Fort Pierce, Florida; Parris Island, South Carolina
    • Battles & Campaigns: Iwo Jima
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1947
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran worked with map making and reading with the G-2 section.

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: Historical Section, Headquarters Company, 1st Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Sasebo, Japan; Korea
    • Highest Rank: Master Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1953
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a combat artist and section chief. He retired 6/1960. He also worked as a cartoonist for Leatherneck Magazine from 1954-1955 and a Graphic Artist at the Naval Electronics Lab at Point Loma, California from 1960-1962.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2009-2010)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2011-07)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2011-09-12)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/80835

Online Format

  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Burgin, William Mcdowell, Veterans Museum At Balboa Park, and Rick Appleton. William McDowell Burgin Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.80835/.

APA citation style:

Burgin, W. M., Veterans Museum At Balboa Park & Appleton, R. (1940) William McDowell Burgin Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.80835/.

MLA citation style:

Burgin, William Mcdowell, Veterans Museum At Balboa Park, and Rick Appleton. William McDowell Burgin Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.80835/>.