Louise Young Diversity Lecture
“R.V. Burgin: Recollections from America’s Greatest Generation”
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 (7:00 pm) - Event is free and open to the public
Ataloa Theatre in the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center
Ninety-two year old R.V. Burgin is part of what many have called the "Greatest Generation" of Americans. Mr. Burgin will be the 2015 Louise Young Diversity Lecture’s speaker on Tuesday, March 10 at 7:00 pm on the ECU campus. These Americans lived through the Great Depression of the 1930's, through World War II and returned home to build our great country. Mr. Burgin will offer his personal remembrances of growing up on a Depression era farm in East Texas and fighting as a U.S. Marine in some of the fiercest battles of WWII in the Pacific. After the war, Burgin married the sweetheart he met while on an assignment in Australia. Wanting to ensure that some of his life memories were preserved, he wrote a book, Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific, and was a consultant to several WWII documentaries and to the blockbuster Emmy award winning HBO series "The Pacific", produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, in which a young actor in plays Marine R.V. Burgin in five of the ten episodes.
Members of the Greatest Generation, such as Mr. Burgin, have a unique and important perspective on overcoming adversity in times of extraordinary challenge and danger. Unfortunately, most of those belonging to the Greatest Generation have either died or are in the twilight of their years. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from a member of the Greatest Generation who is eager to share his lively stories. Autographed copies of Mr. Burgin's book, Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific, will be for sale after the program. Price is $20 (cash, check or major credit cards). If you have special seating or bus parking needs, contact Samantha Dillehay of ECU at 580-559-5598 or sdillehy@ecok.edu.
