Burgin was the author of the memoir Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific (with William Marvel).

[13] Burgin joined the United States Marine Corps on November 13, 1942, during World War II and was assigned to the 9th Replacement Battalion.

[7][14] He was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions in the Battle of Okinawa on 2 May 1945, when he destroyed a Japanese machine gun emplacement that had his company pinned down.

[7] While on leave in Melbourne during World War II, Burgin met an Australian woman, Florence Riseley.

[16] Burgin died on April 6, 2019, at the age of 96 in Lancaster, Texas, and is buried next to his wife at Rawlins Cemetery.