The Howell Post Office at 325 S. Michigan Ave. will be renamed in honor of Sergeant Donald R. Burgett, the Howell resident and author who fought in some of the most-famous battles of World War II.
The ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Friday, June 14, 2019.
Burgett — a Screaming Eagle in the 101st Airborne Division — served as a rifleman and machine-gunner in the 1st Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, fighting throughout the European theater. He parachuted into Normandy during the D-Day seaborne invasion, and into the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden; he was at the center of the Battle of the Bulge, one of the bloodiest land battles of World War II; and he helped capture Hitler’s mountain retreat in southern Germany. He was wounded three times during the war.
And he survived it. He was one of just 11 of the original 200 members of his company to be alive at the end of the war.
He went on to pen four memoirs: “Curahee”: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy”; “The Road to Arnhem,” a first-hand account of Operation Market Garden; “Seven Roads to Hell,” about the Battle of the Bulge; and “Beyond the Rhine: A Screaming Eagle in Germany.”
I am so glad I had the honor to meet Burgett. He was a fascinating man, a particular favorite of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus newsroom during my time there.
Burgett was also an active member of the VFW, American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans, and he often spoke to high school classes about his experiences during the war.
Burgett died in 2017 at the age of 91. You can read his obituary by clicking here.
