Brothers in the Army Air Forces: The Story of the Burlen Family Papers
In archives, history can often be shared in quiet, personal ways. Letters folded into envelopes, photographs tucked between documents, and souvenirs kept from places far from home all preserve traces of the past. The Burlen Family Papers, preserved at the Center for Pacific War Studies, tell the story of two brothers whose lives were shaped by World War II. Through their collection, we see not only military service, but also family loss, and the uncertainty of a world at war.
Robert Burlen's Service and Loss in the Pacific
Robert and Albert Burlen grew up far from the airfields of the Pacific and western United States. Robert “Bobby” Burlen was born in Boston in 1925 and raised in New York City. Like many young Americans of his generation, the war changed the course of his life. In 1943, at only eighteen years old, Bobby enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He was assigned as a radio operator in the 29th Bombing Group, flying aboard a B-29 bomber called Witch on a Broom. From bases in the Mariana Islands, including Guam and nearby Tinian, Bobby and his crewmates flew long, dangerous bombing missions over Japan during the final months of the war.
Photograph of Pvt. Robert "Bobby" Burlen in uniform.
The aircraft Bobby served on carried both immense destructive power and enormous risk. B-29 crews flew for hours across the Pacific, often facing anti-aircraft fire, mechanical problems, and the constant threat of enemy fighters. Each mission required courage, discipline, and trust in the men flying beside you. In April 1945, during one of these missions, the Witch on a Broom was shot down over Japan. Bobby Burlen and the rest of the crew did not return and were considered missing in action until after the war ended. He was just twenty years old.
Letter to Margaret Burlen from the Headquarters of the 29th Bombardment Group, informing her that Bobby is reported as "Missing in Action," May 27, 1945.
Back home, the war did not stop. For the Burlen family, the loss of Bobby would have been both sudden and devastating. Letters preserved in the collection show the long aftermath of such a loss. These include condolences from friends, official communications from the War Department, and the difficult administrative matters that followed a soldier’s death. Certificates honoring Robert’s service and correspondence regarding life insurance reflect the formal language of government institutions trying to address something deeply personal and painful.
Albert Burlen's Service and Training
Yet the collection also tells another story. It is the story of Bobby’s younger brother, Albert.
Albert Burlen, born in late 1926, followed his brother into the Army Air Corps. In January 1945, he enlisted and began training as an aviation cadet. His journey in the military took him across the United States to places like Keesler Field in Mississippi, Pecos Army Airfield in Texas, Las Vegas Army Airfield, Fort Douglas in Utah, and Amarillo Army Airfield.
Portrait of Albert Burlen in his cadet uniform.
Unlike Robert’s story, Albert’s papers reveal the routines of training and travel. Among the materials he kept were postcards, train tickets, ration cards, mess hall cards, mailing tags, pamphlets, and receipts. These small items might once have seemed ordinary, but they now capture the everyday experience of wartime service. They document a young airman moving from base to base, learning new skills and adapting to military life while the war continued overseas.
The Brothers' Legacy
Together, the brothers’ materials form a portrait of two different wartime experiences. Robert’s letters and documents reflect the realities of combat service in the Pacific and the tragic cost of war. Albert’s souvenirs reveal the vast training system that prepared thousands of young men for service in the air forces. Photographs in the collection deepen this picture. Some show Robert in uniform standing alongside fellow soldiers. Others depict military life and landscapes from the Pacific theater. There are group photos of servicemen, quiet scenes of everyday moments, and images connected to Robert’s death, including funeral flowers. Each photograph captures a moment that might otherwise be forgotten.
The collection also includes maps of Japan and Southeast Asia, wartime publications, and newspaper clippings about B-29 operations. One item, a 1945 issue of The New Yorker titled “A Reporter with the B-29’s,” offers a glimpse into the world Robert experienced while flying missions over Japan.
Handwritten correspondence between family members reveals the voices behind the uniforms. Through these letters, we see Bobby, Albert, and their mother, Margarete, communicating across distances and sharing pieces of their lives while the war reshaped the world around them. These documents remind us that behind every mission and every statistic were families waiting for news and hoping for safe returns. They speak to the experiences of thousands of families during World War II. Families watched sons leave home, waited for letters from distant bases, and sometimes faced the unimaginable loss of a loved one.
Page of a letter from Robert Burlen to Albert Burlen, June 1943. Bobby often refers to Albert as "Budge" in his letters.
Today, preserved at the Center for Pacific War Studies, these papers ensure that Robert and Albert Burlen are not just names in military records. Their lives, their service, and their family’s story remain part of the historical record. In the quiet pages of letters, in worn postcards from distant airfields, and in photographs taken decades ago, the Burlen brothers remind us that history is not only about battles and strategies. It is also about people. Young men who served, families who waited, and the memories that endure long after the war has ended.
Check out the Burlen Family Papers Today!
Contributor
Sarah O'Malley is the Assistant Archivist at the National Museum of the Pacific War's Center for Pacific War Studies.
