Title: Casimir A. Burczyk Papers and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1945-1946

Creator:

• Burczyk, Casimir A.

Call Number: WVM Mss 721

Quantity: 0.1 linear ft. (1 folder) of papers and 1.0 linear ft. (3 archives box) of photographs.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and photographs of Casimir A. Burczyk, who served as a photo interpreter with the Army Air Force in the South Pacific during World War II. The collection consists mostly of photographs taken during Burczyk's time in the South Pacific, particularly on Iwo Jima. There are many shots of planes, including almost twenty of unique nose art painted on the aircraft. Other photographs show the military base that was built on Iwo Jima including building, vehicles, equipment and cemeteries. Most photos of personnel, including some of a basketball game, are unidentified. The photographs are of a high quality and give a good idea of the military establishment on Iwo Jima, but their lack of identification limits their overall usefulness. The papers consist of separation and discharge forms for Burczyk, as well as some brief reminiscences of his service.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00721

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Casimir A. Burczyk was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 23, 1920. His parents, Thomas and Tekla, were both full-blooded Poles. While he was still young, Burczyk's family moved to Racine, Wisconsin and he attended local schools there. Upon graduation from high school he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1942.

He briefly worked for National Aniline and Chemical Company in Buffalo before entering the Army Air Force in July 1943. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant and eventually received a promotion to 1st lieutenant. He received stateside training and in early 1945 took a photo interpretation course. In April 1945 he was sent to the South Pacific and in mid-May he arrived on Iwo Jima as part of the 21st Fighter Squadron. His primary duty was interpretation of photographs coming back from Japan. He returned to the states in April 1946 and was discharged in June.

He worked for Dow Chemical in Michigan following the war and married Mary Lou Schaefer in 1949. The couple had four children and moved to Monona, Wisconsin where Burczyk was employed by Oscar Meyer. He retired in 1985 and passed away at his home on December 31, 1995.

The papers of Casimir A. Burczyk are divided into two series: Papers and Photographs.

Papers (1946) contain assorted military documents relating to Burczyk's military career. Discharge forms give the details of his service and undated reminiscences provide some brief narrative to complement them. A photocopied map of the Pacific Ocean along with a brief key shows several stations that Burczyk stopped at along the way to Iwo Jima in 1945.

Photographs (1945-1946) consists entirely of pictures taken during Burczyk's time in the South Pacific May 1945 through April 1946. There are many pictures of the planes that he worked with including almost twenty shots of unique nose art painted on the aircraft. Over 100 scenery shots show the military base that built up on Iwo Jima following American occupation. Buildings, equipment, vehicles, and cemeteries are all shown, though the vast majority are unidentified. Photos of military personnel are almost entirely unidentified and most show men either posing or relaxing. One group of pictures depicts a basketball game. There are also pictures of island natives in traditional costume. Photos of Burczyk in uniform and at ease on Iwo Jima are also included. The photographs are of a high quality and give a good idea of the military establishment on Iwo Jima, but their lack of identification limits their overall usefulness.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mary Lou Burczyk, Monona, WI, 2003. Accession Number: TR1284 and Mss 2003.180. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Processed by Russell Horton in 2005.

	Series: Papers
Mss   30 Folder   13	Biographical data, undated
	Series: Photographs	⇧
Box   1 Folder   1-2	Casimir A. Burczyk [10] , circa 1945
Box   1 Folder   3-5	Cemeteries [16] , 1945
Box   1 Folder   6-8	Groups [13] , 1945
Box   1 Folder   9	with Burczyk [5] , 1945
Box   1 Folder   10-12	Playing basketball [13] , 1945
Box   1 Folder   13-19	Individuals [33] , 1945
Box   1 Folder   20	Island natives [7] , 1945
Box   1 Folder   21-26	Planes [33] , 1945
Box   2 Folder   1-3	Planes [15] , 1945
Box   2 Folder   4-7	Nose art [19] , 1945
Box   2 Folder   8-11	Scenery [22] , 1945
Box   2 Folder   12-24	Military bases [66] , 1945
Box   3 Folder   1-4	Military bases [20] , 1945
Box   3 Folder   5-7	Ocean-views [15] , 1945