Henry F. Burfeind Papers

The 5.5 cubic feet of documents comprising the papers of Henry F. Burfeind (1913-2003), Naval Officer, Aviator, and Captain in the United States Navy, span the period 1932 to 1998, although the bulk of his papers date from 193 7 to 1963. The papers reflect Burfeind' s duties, accomplishments, recreational activities, and travels as a Naval Officer primarily via letters sent to his parents from 1937 to 1939, 1941 to 1949, 1952, and 1959 to 1960 and seven scrapbooks of photographs, clippings, correspondence, brochures, and postcards dated from 1933 to 1957. The two year gap in the letters Burfeind sent to his parents were during his training in Lighter than Air (blimp) aircraft at Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey. This collection would be of interest to Naval historians and any researcher.

The Henry F. Burfeind papers are arranged into ten series. In the Burfeind papers are aviator flight logbooks, an annotated world map, service record documents, memoranda, press clippings, letters received, letters sent, diary entries, photographs, certificates and scrapbooks. Various printed materials can also be found, including yearbooks, a directory of 1937 Naval Academy graduates, newsletters and press clippings.

Papers documenting Burfeind 's professional activities as a Naval Officer and Aviator are primarily in BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL AND SERVICE RECORD (1936-1963, and 1985). Further details of Burfeind's professional matters are intermixed with his personal matters in LETTERS RECEIVED (1941-1998. (bulk 1941-1949)), LETTERS SENT (1937-1939 and 1941-1947), DIARY ( 1943-1945), and NAVAL ACADEMY AND CLASS REUNION MATERIALS (1935, 1937, 1957, 1967, and 1987).

As a Naval Officer, Burfeind served on a number of battleships including the U.S.S. California, the U.S.S. Pillsbury, the U.S.S. Mobile, and the U.S.S. Salerno Bay. Burfeind received the "Order of the Purple Heart" for his wounds in the bombing of the U.S.S. Pillsbury on December 10, 1941 and a Letter of Commendation for bringing a fire under control on the U.S.S. Mobile. As a Naval Aviator of Airships (b limps), Burfeind led Airship Patrol Squadron 42 in the first ever flight of a non-rigid airship across the equator. After two years of training in Heavier than Air (airplane) flying, Burfeind was appointed Naval Aviator.

The DIARY (1943-1945) series documents two major assignments in Burfeind's career. In the entries dated from May 21, 1943 to November 29, 1943 with occasional gaps, Henry describes his frustrating experience establishing three bases to support anti-submarine patrols as Executive Officer of Airship Patrol Squadron 42 in Brazil. Entries dated from January 5, 1945 to December 25, 1945 with occasional gaps, document Henry's assignment transporting ex-prisoners of war from Nagasaki, Japan.

The LETTERS RECEIVED (1941-1998. (bulk 1941-1949)) series focus on Burfeind's various personal and professional matters via incoming letters from his parents, friends, Navy ship mates, a Captain Watson, Terry Sanford, the former governor of North Carolina, a historian, and local business leaders in New Jersey. Most noteworthy are heartfelt letters from Henry's parents after learning of his return to the United States following a brief period of missing in action after the U.S.S. Pillsbury bombing. Two letters from a Captain Watson address Henry's professional concerns. Watson gives Henry advice about becoming a Naval Aviator, whether or not to remain in the Navy, and how to request a change of duty.

The series of LETTERS SENT (1937-1939 and 1941-1947) contain outgoing letters from Burfeind to his parents reflecting the close relationship he had with them. The letters detail Burfeind's various duties, training, accomplishments and frustrations at throughout his career in the United States Navy. Henry often expressed confusion and uncertainty about major decisions at different points in his career like pursuing aviation or remaining at sea and even the idea of leaving the Navy altogether and returning to civilian life. The letters also give detailed accounts of Burfeind's extensive travels to places like the Panama Canal, Guantanamo, Cuba, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, China. In a letter dated September 29, 1945 Henry gives a detailed description along with a sketch of the site in Nagasaki, Japan that was destroyed by the atomic bomb.

The series of NAVAL ACADEMY AND CLASS REUNION MATERIALS (1935, 1937, 1957, 1967, and 1987) document the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland and Henry Burfeind's Academy class of 1937 via the Naval publication titled, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, his 1937 yearbook, Naval Academy class reunion publications of the classes' twentieth, thirtieth and fiftieth reunions and fiftieth reunion memorabilia.

PLANS FOR INVENTIONS consists of blueprints, reports, correspondence, notes, and a patent documenting Henry Burfeind's inventions and his ideas for possible inventions. As an Ordnance Officer at Moffett Field in 1942-1943 and an Experimental Officer at Lakehurst NAS in 1949-1951, he developed airship equipment including a bomb sight, sway brace for exterior bomb, and a patented ground-handling winch. Other inventions were developed while working in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in 1957, including explosive echo ranging for attacking submarines. Of note in this series are Burfeind's ideas for non-military inventions. Spanning from 1936 through retirement, informal, handwritten papers, notes, and sketches outline his ideas on improving mechanical devices such as car radios and engines and demonstrate that the inventive wheels were always turning.

Between 1939 and 1941 Henry Burfeind received lighter-than-air training at Lakehurst NAS where he became a naval pilot in command of blimp flights. The series NAVAL AIRSHIP DOCUMENTATION contains books related to this training as well as clippings and correspondence related to airships. The series also contains a 1980 mailing list of lighter-than-air enthusiasts, indicating that his interest in airships continued long after his retirement.

SHIPS CRUISE BOOKS documents Henry Burfeind's service on the U.S.S. Mobile (1944-1946) and the U.S.S. Greenwich Bay (1960). The series contains books about these two ships as well as information related to the U.S.S. Salerno Bay (1951-1953).

Subjects in the PHOTOGRAPHS series include free ballooning, airships, and the Middle East. In addition, there are photographs of Henry Burfeind and a large group photograph of his US Naval Academy graduation.

CERTIFICATES includes Henry Burfeind's diplomas, commissions, and certificates from completion of naval training courses. In addition, some certificates commemorate his connection with various ships including the Marechal Joffre, the U.S.S. Valcour, and the U.S.S. North Carolina.

The SCRAPBOOKS series documents aspects of Henry Burfeind's activities in the navy with photographs, correspondence, and clippings beginning with his years at the US Naval Academy (1933-1937) and ending with his tour of duty in the Middle East (1960). It also documents his extensive travel (navy-related and vacations) with photographs and postcards.