At American Rifleman’s seminar “The Greatest Pistol in the World: 100 Years of the U. S. Model of 1911,” two distinguished World War II veterans who will speak during the session, also will be available before and after the presentation to sign books, DVDs and autographs. Don Burgett, of the 101st Airborne, will be signing copies of his DVD set “An Eagle Returns,” and Dr. Sidney Phillips, Jr., of the 1st Marines, will be signing copies of his new book You’ll be Sor-Ree: A Guadalcanal Marine Remembers the Pacific War.
Location for this event will be Rooms 303-305 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Saturday, April 30, from noon to 2 p.m. and Sunday May 1, from 10 to 11 a.m., and after the seminar, time permitting. Both Mr. Burgett and Dr. Phillips will be joining American Rifleman’s Mark Keefe and Angus McClellan, National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Philip Schreier, and historian Martin K.A. Morgan as special guests. The seminars will begin at 2 p.m. on April 29 and 11 a.m. on May 1.
Don R. Burgett joined the U.S. Army on his 18th birthday, April 5, 1943. In February 1944, he was assigned to Able Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne “Screaming Eagles” Division in Aldbourne England. On June 6, 1944, D-Day, he parachuted into France, and served in the in Normandy campaign, then Operation Market Garden in Holland and the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium. He ended the war in Berchtesgaden. His books on his experiences have become some of the most read of all World War II remembrances and include Currahee on Normandy, The Road to Hell on Arnhem, Seven Roads To Hell on Bastogne and Beyond The Rhine on Germany. He has also produced a DVD set, “An Eagle Returns,” in which Burgett returns to the battlefield on which he fought. Copies of the DVD will be available for sale during the seminar.
Dr. Sidney Clark Phillips, Jr., joined the U.S. Marine Corps on Dec. 8, 1941, at the age of 17. After basic training at Paris Island, Phillips was assigned to the mortar platoon of H Company 2nd battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. On Aug. 7, 1942, Phillips landed on Guadalcanal, and fought in numerous actions including the infamous Battle of the Tenaru, over the course of five months on the Island. On Dec. 26, 1943 Phillips participated in the Operation Dexterity landings near Cape Gloucester. In February 1944, Phillips landed on Pavuvu. At age 19, after two years of Pacific combat, Phillips returned home. Dr. Phillips, now retired, is the author of You’ll be Sor-Ree: A Guadalcanal Marine Remembers the Pacific War. Copies of the book will be available at the seminar. Dr. Phillips’ service was recounted in the PBS series “The War” and HBO’s “The Pacific.”
