Burland, Peter D. (34701036)

Peter D. Burland
Personal details
Born	1924
Nativity	United States
Religion	Greek Orthodox
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	34701036
Rank	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 9 (21 June – 18 August 1943)
Section	1B
Enlisted	Ft Mcclellan, Alabama

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Peter D. Burland (born 1924) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Greek Orthodox) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 9.

Biography

I'm saddened to report the passing of Ritchie Boy Peter Burland on Saturday, August 21, 2021 of Arlington Heights, IL, at age 97. According to Beverley Driver Eddy, author of the upcoming book on the Ritchie Boys, "At the time of his death, Peter was working on his memoirs, which he dedicated: 'To the graduates of Camp Ritchie, Maryland, who fought for and won the high ground in the 'Secret War' of counter-intelligence against the Germans. [...] Of the twelve men that graduated from this school and [were] assigned to the 2nd Armored Division's Tactical Command Post, three died in battle, one was severely wounded in combat, and two were physically disabled during the Battle of the Bulge by the severe cold. This story is dedicated to these and hundreds of other Ritchie graduates who suffered a similar fate playing the cat-and-mouse game of counterintelligence... and to those who survived to tell their story.'" More to follow.

The following on Ritchie Boy Peter Burland was provided by Professor Beverley Driver Eddy, whose upcoming book has more information on Staff Sergeant Burland. Ritchie Boy Staff Sergeant Peter Burland was born in 1923, the son of Greek immigrants. He quit his studies in chemical engineering at LSU in December 1942 to enlist in the US Army. RB Burland, along with 150 other Greek-speaking GI's went to Camp Ritchie, and later formed the 5th Greek guerilla class. He trained as a photo interpreter and flew many missions over the German defenses in Normandy prior to D-Day invasion. He also landed at Omaha Beach with the the Second Armored Division. RB Burland was wounded three times, including at the Battle of the Bulge.

Research notes

• Also SG2B PI
• Also Class 9
• Pi 16
• 7/13/1924-a

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Nara ASN	34701036
Nara Name	BURLAND PETER D
Nara State	41
Nara County	97
Nara POE	4130
Nara DOE	140143
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	BI
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	41
Nativity.1	ALABAMA
Nara Year of Birth	24
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
Nara Education	5
Nara Civilian Occupation	993
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	69
Nara Weight (lbs)	130
Class_ASN	34701036
Class_Name	BURLAND, Peter D.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Sources

• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2021-08-24 (2 posts)