Harland Fremont Burgess Full Narrative

Born on April 23, 1899 in Columbus, Kansas, Harland Fremont Burgess grew up on a farm in Palouse, Washington.  He graduated from Pullman High School in 1917 and enlisted in the United States Army; he was discharged on December 19, 1918 to attend the Students Army Training Center at Washington State College (WSC). Burgess attended WSC from 1917 to 1922 and received his Bachelor's degree in Education. While at WSC he was part of the state college R.O.T.C., and he received a commission as second lieutenant, Infantry, in the Officers Reserve Corps of the U.S. Army in June 1921. Burgess was a career military officer prior to World War II, spending time in Brooklyn, Honolulu, and Manila. He married Marion Ulley on June 16, 1923 in Spokane, Washington. During World War II, Burgess served in the Pacific Theater and was captured by the Japanese.  He was aboard the Japanese prison transport ship, the Arisan Maru, when it was hit by two torpedoes on October 24, 1944. Burgess was one of 1,775 men who died with the sinking of the Arisan Maru. He is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.