Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Donald Dunwody Blackburn (September 14, 1916 – May 24, 2008) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

officer, best known for his significant command and developmental roles in the

U.S. Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...

. He was also the commander of the highly classified Studies and Observations Group from 1965 to 1966. Since most of his military career involved clandestine operations, many of Blackburn's exploits remain unknown to the general public.

Army service

Donald Blackburn was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

Reserve on May 30, 1938, and entered into active duty with the Army September 22, 1940, assigned to the 24th Infantry at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia.

World War II

At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was serving as an advisor to a battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment,

Philippine Commonwealth Army The Philippine Army was established on December 21, 1935, as the Army of the Philippines, with a general headquarters in Manila, and units and formations based throughout the provinces of the Philippines. The Philippine Army was initially org ...

. Upon the fall of

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...

in April 1942, he evaded capture with his friend Captain

Russell W. Volckmann Russell William Volckmann (October 23, 1911 – June 30, 1982) was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a U.S. Army infantry officer and a leader of the Philippine Commonwealth military and guerrilla resistance to th ...

, and until October 1945 conducted the Commonwealth military and

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...

on the island of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. During this latter period, he reorganized and commanded the 11th Infantry Regiment,

, which was integrated in October 1945 as a regular unit in the Philippine Commonwealth Army, under Major

Eulogio Balao Eulogio Balao (March 11, 1907 – August 22, 1977) was a Filipino soldier and politician. Career Balao joined the Philippine Constabulary as a young man and rose through its ranks. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Forces Far East. ...

. In January 1945, Blackburn established his headquarters in

Tuao Tuao, officially the Municipality of Tuao ( ibg, Ili nat Tuao; ilo, Ili ti Tuao; tl, Bayan ng Tuao), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,970 people. Etymol ...

, building a C-47 airfield, roads, and re-establishing schools and hospitals in the

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

Bontoc Bontoc may refer to: * Bontoc, Mountain Province, Philippines * Bontoc, Southern Leyte, Philippines * Bontoc people, an ethnic group from Central Luzon, Philippines * Bontoc language Bontoc (Bontok) (also called Finallig) is the native language ...

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the C ...

and

Apayao Apayao, officially the Province of Apayao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Apayao; fil, Lalawigan ng Apayao), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Kabugao, Apayao, Kabuga ...

. By March 1945, Blackburn's regiment consisted of 5000 soldiers and guerrillas, including

Igorot The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon, Philippines are often referred to using the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples. There are nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ar ...

s and Bolomen. Blackburn's men supported

Sixth United States Army Sixth Army is a theater army of the United States Army. The Army service component command of United States Southern Command, its area of responsibility includes 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in Central and South America and ...

Force B in the capture of

Aparri Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of ...

on 20 June 1945. Blackburn was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

after he led his men in the capture of

Mayoyao, Ifugao Mayoyao, officially the Municipality of Mayoyao is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 15,621 people. History Battle of Mayoyao Ridge From July 26, to August 9, ...

, a

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of General Mikami's forces in August 1945.Harkins, P., 1956, Blackburn's Headhunters, London: Cassell & Co. LTD Blackburn's forces received the surrender of Generals Mikami's and Marauka's forces on 14 August.

Postwar

Following World War II Blackburn served in various command and staff assignments. He was assigned to the Department of Military Psychology and Leadership, Tactical Department,

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, in 1950. During 1953, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va. He was then assigned to NATO's Allied Forces Northern Europe, Oslo, Norway. He was promoted to the rank of colonel (O-6) on 20 July 1955. On return to the United States in 1956, he was assigned as commanding officer, 3rd Training Regiment, Fort Jackson, S.C.

Vietnam War

In 1957, he was assigned to

MAAG Maag is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Bruno Maag (born 1962), Swiss type designer * Dan Maag (born 1975), German film producer * Karin Maag (born 1962), German politician * Peter Maag (1919–2001), Swiss conductor * R ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and served as the senior advisor to the commanding general, 5th Military Region (Mekong Delta). In October 1958, he was assigned as commanding officer, 77th

Group (now the 7th SFG) where he was instrumental in initiating

operations in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. In 1959, as commander of the 77th SFG, Blackburn spearheaded Operation Hotfoot and it follow on,

Operation White Star Project Hotfoot (also known as Operation Hotfoot, originally known as Operation Ambidextrous)Jacobsen, p. 112 was a secretive military training mission from the United States in support of the Kingdom of Laos. It ran from 22 January 1959 through ...

, in Laos. Operation White Star, which lasted from July 1959 to October 1962, used U.S. Army Special Forces to support the Royal Laotian government in operations against the Pathet Lao communist insurgency. Following his command of the 77th SFG, Blackburn attended the 1960 class of the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

and graduated in 1961. He then served as deputy director of developments for

Special Warfare Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

, Office of the Chief of Research and Development from 1961 to 1964. He was then was reassigned to the office, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations as Director of Special Warfare. Blackburn was SOG

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

( Studies and Observations Group)

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense. MACV was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV ...

, from May 1965 to May 1966. On 7 January 1968, Blackburn was promoted to brigadier general. In 1969 Blackburn was appointed as Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities (SACSA) and acted as the primary advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on special operations. In that capacity, he assembled the first

Mobile Training Teams. The first iteration was led by Bull Simons whom he had first gotten to know from the Philippines. While in the position, he authorized and oversaw the initial election of the

Son Tay A son is a male reproduction, offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and s ...

POW Camp for

Operation Ivory Coast Operation Ivory Coast was a mission conducted by United States Special Operations Forces and other American military elements to rescue U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. It was also the first joint military operation in United States ...

in 1970, briefing General

Earle Wheeler Earle Gilmore Wheeler (January 13, 1908 – December 18, 1975), nicknamed Bus, was a United States Army general who served as the chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1962 to 1964 and then as the sixth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of ...

, then

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

. He was part of the briefing of

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

. He is the one that chose Air Force BG

Leroy J. Manor Leroy Joseph Manor (February 21, 1921 – February 25, 2021) was a United States Air Force Lieutenant General who began his career serving as a P-47 fighter pilot in World War II, and in numerous command positions during the Vietnam War era. Gen ...

as overall commander of the raid, Bull Simons, Dick Meadows and "Doc" Cataldo. After the raid, he was the one that navigated the furor over the fact there were no prisoners at Son Tay.ROXANNE M. MERRITT Director, JFK Special Warfare Museum 910-432-4272/1533; DSN: 239 910-432-4062 fax merrittr@soc.mil; Roxanne.M.Merritt@us.army.mil

After Vietnam

He served as the assistant deputy director, Defense Communications Planning Group from August 1966 to August 1967, the assistant division commander,

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

from September 1967 to October 1968, and the director of plans and programs, office of the Chief of Research and Development from October 1968 until his retirement in 1971.

Popular culture

Blackburn's exploits as a guerrilla leader during World War II in northern Luzon, Philippines, were chronicled in the book ''Blackburn's Headhunters'' by Philip Harkins (W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1955). The Harkins book was made into a film called '' Surrender - Hell!'', with

Keith Andes Keith Andes (born John Charles Andes, July 12, 1920 – November 11, 2005) was an American film, radio, musical theater, stage and television actor. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Andes, Andes was born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

playing Blackburn and released in 1959 by Allied Artists films. Blackburn was the technical advisor on the film.

In retirement

Following his retirement from military service, Blackburn took a position with Braddock Dunn & McDonald, where he served as vice president, special projects until he retired in 1979.

Medals and decorations

Brig. Gen. Blackburn was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal, the Gold Star Medal (Philippines), the Medal of Merit (Philippines) and the Vietnam Army Distinguished Service Medal. He was authorized to wear the Distinguished Unit Citation with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, the Combat Infantryman Badge. ;Badges ;Decorations ;Unit Award ;Service Medals ;Foreign Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Donald D. 1916 births 2008 deaths United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War II Members of the United States Army Special Forces American guerrillas of World War II Philippine resistance against Japan Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Military Merit Medal (Philippines) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Order (Vietnam) United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War