Brigadier General Saw Kyar Doe was a Karen military officer who served as the first deputy Chief of Army Staff from 4 January 1948 to 31 July 1948.

Career

In 1924, at the age of 16, he joined the army, attended training in

Maymyo Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: ), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have a population of ...

, and served in the 2nd Burma Rifle in Taiping, Malaysia. He served as a jamadar in the Burmese and Indian armies. In 1930, he attended the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and received a King's Commission in 1932. In 1938, he returned to Burma and served as deputy commander in the Burma Military Police with the rank of captain. Before Japanese troops entered Burma in 1939, the Burma Military Police and Civil Police merged to form the 7th Burma Rifle Police Battalion, where he served as a lieutenant commander (major). During the

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 served as a colonel in the Burmese Defense Army (BDA) under the command of General Aung San. During the Japanese Revolution, he was assigned as the military leader of Division No. 3. In 1945, before the start of the March Revolution, he was captured by the Japanese army in

Wakema Wakema is a town in the Ayeyarwady Division of south-west Myanmar. It is the seat of the Wakema Township in the Myaungmya District. It is home to the Government Technological Institute, Wakema (formerly the Government Technical Institute, Wakema). ...

, and was taken to

Mawlamyine Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...

. He was released after World War II. After the war, he returned to serve as a deputy battalion commander at the Burma Regimental Center which was opened in Maymyo. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1947. In April 1948, he was assigned as the commander of the Southern Regional Command. From January to July 1948, he served as the deputy Chief of Army Staff. He was replaced with General

Ne Win Ne Win ( my, နေဝင်း ; 10 July 1910, or 14 or 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002) was a Burmese politician and military commander who served as Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma ...

in August 1948. So he moved to the post of Chief of Operations but was forced to retire when Karen insurgents began their war for independence from Burma. Burman-led government forces and Karens engaged in a fierce fight in Rangoon's Insein Township in January 1949. The battle was known as the Battle of Insein. As a result, Burma leaders no longer trusted the Karen, and high-ranking Karen general Smith Dun and his fellow Karen troops were removed from their positions. On 11 September 1988, he served as a member of the Democracy General Election Commission. He was awarded the title of

Maha Thiri Thudhamma The Maha Thiri Thudhamma ( my, မဟာသီရိသုဓမ္မာ, from pi, mahāsīrisudhammā) is an honorary award given to those who have served in the military or the civil service since the 1948 independence. In the past, this t ...

and the Naingngan Gonyi (First Class) by the government. He died on January 12, 1999, at his home in Kamayut Township. He was survived by his wife, Than Yin, and his son, Nay Htate Doe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saw Kyar Doe Burmese generals Burmese people of Karen descent British Indian Army soldiers British Indian Army officers Recipients of the Military Cross