Sergeant R.V. Burgin, Hero of 'The Pacific' (Full Interview) 

The legend didn't talk about the war until he was in his 80's. Finally wrote a book just a few short years before he passed. A humble brave man who helped save the world. Rest in peace 🕊️

Simply said, these men were the greatest generation ever!! God bless them all that served 🙏

I knew RV - he RV served with my father at Okinawa - RV and all those marines are such an inspiration. My generation and all Americans will always be grateful to him and his. Their story and courage should be taught in all schools - A good lesson how GREAT AMERICA WAS.

I had the honor of meeting him once at a gun show. He had such a presence about him in person. about broke into tears just talking to him when he was talking about war related stuff because I felt like I could feel his pain. It was odd. My buddy met him about 6 months later and said he had the same thing happen to him when he met him. We had about five minutes talk. What a true hero.

I had the privilege of talking with him on the phone before his passing, a true warrior. Semper Fi

Burgi!!!!! What a REAL HERO !!! GOD Bless you Sir!

He also was the author of the memoir Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific. Burgin is portrayed in the HBO miniseries The Pacific by Martin McCann. What a remarcable person! Thank you for you service.

THESE STORIES SHOULD BE SHOWN IN HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASSES MANDATORY

Thank you for my freedom

I can listen to these southern gentlemen talk all day.

The greatest generation risked their lives so that the rest of us could live in peace. God bless you sir and the many who served with you. My father served in Europe as a tank mechanic for Patton and I served later in Vietnam and Desert Storm with the U S Army. I am sure that many more will do so once again if called upon to defend freedom.

RIP Sergeant Burgin, thank you sir.

God bless him and all my fellow vets, and the kids serving today. You know, God's a 1911 guy too.

God Bless you Sergeant Burgin. Thank you for your service.

So happy/surprised seeing this interview.. thank you Burgin. RIP

He describes bunker scene from The Pacific at 16 min. Guy was a warrior, smart and calm decision maker under fire.

God bless him. So humble and such love for his men and the Marines. Thank you very much for this video.

To see these men next to their pictures when they were young.... It’s crazy... You can tell they used to be tough sob’s...

RIP!!! Brother!! Another brave soul lost to us. Sir, I hope you find your peace now in both physical and in your mind. May eternity give you milk and honey forever. Much love, thank you for your sacrifice to our country.

Semper Fi, Mr. R.V. Burgin. Glad to see you're still alive and well. I was with F2/5 in Iraq, 60 years after you were with 3/5.

Don't miss reading Burgin's book, "Islands of the Dammed." It has the same honesty and modesty that is so evident in this interview. It's a fine companion to Eugene Sledge's "With the Old Breed".

There should b monuments made to these simple men who did so much for our country. Truly the Greatest Generation

Wow. I'm glad Mr Burgin survived the hellstorm of the Pacific Campaign and lived to be an old man. Any man who fought in those islands is a true hero in my book. May he rest in peace now.

A lovey man. Reminds me of my uncle. Thank you sir.

Sweet And Humble. God Speed. Thank you ❤

Thank you endlessly for your service Sgt and may God bless you always!!!!!

Thank you sir!!! We all owe you and ur men a debt that we cannot repay

Humble. I love these guys!

I’m glad he wrote the book. IN THEIR OWN WORDS is the only way to go so the memories are never forgotten. HEROES is an understatement. He is still sharp as tack! 👍🇺🇸❤️

I tip my hat, and not only to your service but to making a life afterwards. Living with the past is no party sometimes and hope wherever you went after this life you found peace. Respect

salute to you sir. salute to all Marines for keeping us free!

Called in the most devastating mortar barrage that it’s tactics are still taught today! God bless R.V., Eugene “sledgehammer”, SNAFU and all the boys from K-3-5 Thank you all for your sacrifices to our great country.

Awesomeness. Thank you for bringing these men of Valor to us.

I am in awe every time I listen to one of these men.

God bless you! Thank you for your service!

Respect to this soldier... ❤🇺🇸

If you haven’t yet make sure you read his book. RV Burgin, Eugene Sledge, and Robert Leckie all wrote fantastic books about their time in the pacific. The HBO series was based on their books. RV is depicted in the series as well

What a brave man and all the marines with burgy

Graduated MCRDSD on 26 Jan 66 Plt. 167. Our drill instructors would give us the history of the Corps during the Island Hopping Campaigns in the Pacific. Been discharged 52 years now. And, these Marines have more time in the 'Chow Line' Then I had in combat in Nam. I had the privilege and honor not only to wear the same uniform as Burgin, Sledge, Leckie and the other Marines of the 1st MarDiv and 'fighting Fifth Marines! 25 years later from 5 March 68 to 15 April 69. I owe them a debt for setting the tone for all us 'Boots!' 'Fair Winds and Following Seas'! Sgt. Burgin Semper Fi! Golf Co. 2n. Bn. 5th Marine Regiment 1st MarDiv. 'Blue Diamond'!

True American hero thank you for your service and sacrifice our great country and to my freedom

I seen the documentary interview he did a while back about Okinawa it was hell on earth.

Thank you for your service. We are indebted to all of you. God Bless

I'm not blaming the interviewer but interviews in general, that these interviews with these WW2 vets are done so late in their lives when they have a hard time remembering or communicating their experiences. I wish moat of these men were interviewed 20 or 30 years ago.

Semper Fi. Thanks to all our veterans.

Listening him describe the bunker scene from the Pacific series in real life is very interesting.

Was just watching other interviews of his, RIP sir

rest in peace burgin

Im listening to this as I have the all the channel’s videos on shuffle and i hear the interviewer say Burgin and I go thats familiar then the son of a gun said Sledge! I was like no wayyy-what an awesome group of guys thanks for your service Mr Burgin

He’s an older man. The Texas drawl is difficult for a Yankee. One must listen intently without distractions. He is naturally reticent, interpreted as still waters run deep. Insanely brave to let an enemy shoot at him so quickly hat he could identify the enemy. To me his memory is impressive. He would need several interviews to get the full impact of his experiences, imo. Overall, I am quite impressed with this interview. His memory is stunning. Best wishes to all.

The best of the best, thanks for your bravery and your sacrifice.

God bless you sir 🙏

This man is an american hero. A national treasure rest in peace sir.

Read his book last year What a man he was, we are going to need people like him when war breaks out with China

My Dad was Canadian 1st Army, had Gurkha Soldiers with him in italy, they would run out of ammo, pull out their knives and yell HERE COME THE GURKA, most Germans gave up right away, God Bless and Remember all who served///

GOD Bless this man and thank you for your service...what is so sad about these interviews..is if all the men and women who fought in WW2 could see what's happened to Europe in particularly, and even our own nation, I'm sure they're very disappointed! The greatest generation!

Thankyou RV, you and all the Marines in WWII have to be remembered and taught about for generations to come.

Thank you Sir, God bless you all...

He should have been awarded the silver star irrespective of his company commander getting killed ak ak haldane was a good officer to his men

RIP it was a honor to hear his story.. take it easy marine. Enjoy the eternal peace, God knows you and your fellow marines deserve it.

When he said “it was the best Uncle Sam had” I smiled and almost laughed.. marine bragging rights 😂

One of my favorites to listen to...by far.

Thank you for your service sir

God bless our vets

Thank you!

Great man. Rest in peace sir.

Respect! RIP Sgt. Burgin.

Great man! ❤️😀

Amazing simply Amazing

Thank you for your service against the forces of evil.

POV: You're a Marine in 2022 realizing you will never be this salty

Oorah Sir. Rest easy.

Hero’s all of them 👍🇬🇧

God bless you "Burgie" . Tell Eugene he's bigger than ever ! Give Snafu a heads up just how large he became . Say hey ,,, to Sid

A very nice man. Makes me miss my USMC grandpa who passed way back in '88. He was in the Pacific and was born in 1915.

I really love these videos, BUT many of us senior vets hear poorly enough that subtitles are necessary. Thanks.

Last year, I saw only episodes 9 and 10 of The Pacific. Including catching a bit of episode 8 involing Basilone on Iwo Jima.

For us "Older New Gen" Marines, this man is a "real Marine"! Semper Fi Sgt.! Oh, it's those dam land crabs that will get you! lol! We had those in the Philippines too! but they weren't from the land.

Attention! Hand Salute!

Rest In Peace....Sgt Burgin...

I wish I could’ve found you guys sooner so you could’ve documented my great grandpa. He is still around but he has dementia so he has trouble remembering his military experience now, I probably remember it better than he does sadly. He used to be the tailgunner on a B-17 over Europe. From what he says he was part of the Dresden bombing raids that leveled the city. After VE day he ended up being transferred to Pacific but the war was over by the time he got there. There’s a lot of photos of him in front of the imperial palace with a bunch of girlfriends made over there lol.

That generation will never be seen again

Awesome

American badass!!! Thanks RV!

I understand theres breaks but at least let him finish his statement. They have so much to share and watching em get interrupted feels rude

How do you thank a man like that???

Knew as soon as i saw the picture he was from the pacific

It's incredible to hear the real story of 'the pacific'. Damn...we just cannot fathom the hell those marines went through. I have the utmost respect for these Marines that fought in both the European and pacific theater.

RIP Hero

I didn't know he passed away, you can see he slowed down quite a bit in a couple of years, sad.

Apparently some Biden/Hillary supporters have seen fit to give this video a thumbs down RIP "Burgie" ....we'll always love and respect your memory

Great interview

American Hero. RIP

I wish I knew him personally...what a hero.

My Grandfather was in the 45th and was allowed to get out so he could be here for the birth of my Mom and the next day enlisted in the Navy . Three of my Great Uncles were in the Philippines and survived the Death March , another Great Uncle enlisted in the Army and was Commissioned by General MacArthur before being sent to Mongolia to tell the Air Corps what the weather was like over Japan and served WWll , Korea and Vietnam . Another one was killed in 1939 when his B-25 crashed at Fort Sam Houston . Another one was drafted even though he was blind in one eye and was caught behind enemy lines and was hid from the Nazi's by a German family . My Father was stationed in France in 1959 and my Mother flew to France May 19 , 1960 and I was born June 2 , 1960 about 35 kilometers north east of Bordeaux in a tiny village called Bussac Foret , Maritime France and when I was 17 I enlisted in the Air Force in 1978 and actually made it to Germany twenty years after I was born . My Brother enlisted in the Marine Corps a year after I left so I grew up around and in the Military and always knew that I was going into the military and always looked up at all Veterans as my Heroes and I guess because I am Irish , Scots , German and Native American every one in my Family going back to 1660 has been picking fights with someone , lol !

They fought to protect democracy. We need to fight to protect it now. Honor their sacrifice.

Semper Fidelis Sgt Burgin

🎇🇺🇲"God Bless Our Veterans and Active Warrior's!!!"🇺🇲🎇 🫡

I am just so happy that the girl from Australia came all the way to Texas and they got married. Thats awesome

Amazing generation

another hero