Harland Fremont Burgess

Pre-WSC Life

Harland Fremont Burgess was born on April 23, 1899 in Columbus, Kansas to Francis and Sarah Burgess.  He was the youngest of nine children.  Francis Burgess was a farmer, and he moved his family to Palouse, Washington where he had a farm. The younger Burgess 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). 

WSC Experience

Burgess attended WSC from 1917 to 1922 and received his Bachelor's degree in Education.  While at WSC, he managed the business section of the school newspaper, The Evergreen, in 1919 due to his familiarity with the business community in Pullman. He also served on the new student committee at the State College YMCA.  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.  During his senior year at WSC, Burgess served as the committee chairman for the 1922 Military Ball, an all-college formal held on February 25, 1922.

Military Service

Following his graduation from WSC, Burgess embarked on a military career in the U.S. Army.  He married Marion Elizabeth Ulley on June 16, 1923 in Spokane, Washington. By September 1941 he was a Major in the 15th Infantry stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington.  Burgess served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, having achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  He was captured by the Japanese and was aboard the Japanese prison transport ship, the Arisan Maru. On October 24, 1944 the Arisan Maru carried 1,783 American prisoners of war.  Conditions on the prison transport ship were brutal, with many prisoners having died due to heat exhaustion from lack of water.  Two American torpedoes hit the ship, and the Japanese abandoned it as the American prisoners of war went into the water.  Only eight Americans are known to have survived the sinking of the Arisan Maru; Harland Burgess was among the dead.

Burial, Recognition, and Remembrance

Burgess is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines. He posthumously received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

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