Russell William Volckmann Brigadier General, U.S. Army
Russell William Volckmann was born on 23 October 1911 in Clinton, IA, the son of William J. C. and Hattie May Dodds Volckmann. He attended grades 9-12 at Shattuck Military Academy, an Episcopal Church-affiliated boarding school in Fairbault, MN, graduating in 1930.
Volckmann entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1930. Upon graduation in June 1934, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. He requested assignment to the Philippines (a choice duty station sought by many officers), but his below-average academic performance at West Point resulted in denial of the request.
For his first operational military assignment, 2LT Volckmann was sent to Fort Snelling, MN, where he served as a rifle platoon leader and, later, as a company executive officer with the 3rd Infantry Division. He received orders to attend the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, GA, in 1937. Following completion of that course, he served at Fort Sam Houston, TX, as a company commander with the 2nd Infantry Division.
In the summer of 1940, Captain Volckmann, his wife Nancy and their young son, Russell Jr. sailed to the Philippines for his new duty assignment. Upon arrival, he became the Commander of Company H, 31st Infantry Regiment. In July 1941, CPT Volckmann was transferred to the 11th Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, to serve as the Regimental Executive Officer. This was unusual duty for a company-grade officer, but the political tensions in the Pacific resulted in accelerated expansion and training for the Philippine Commonwealth Army. A month later, Volckmann's wife and son, along with all the other U.S. military dependents, were shipped back to the United States due to war concerns. On 8 December 1941, the day following the sneak attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked the Philippines.
World War II in the Philippines:
The 11th Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Division fought a delaying retreat from the Lingayen Gulf to Bataan. At the fall of Bataan in 1942, Major Volckmann refused to surrender and accompanied by Donald Blackburn, began a trek to northern Luzon before the fall of Corregidor. Sometimes in the company of other fleeing American and Filipino soldiers, Volckmann and Blackburn headed to the cordillera (chain of mountains) in Northern Luzon. There they hoped to assist in establishing an organized resistance against the Japanese.
Volckmann strongly credited the assistance of Filipino civilians in making their journey a success, especially during their periods of illness, and the time spent recovering at the American Fassoth Camp. On 20 August 1942, they reached Colonel Thorp's camp west of Fort Stotsenburg in the Zambales Mountains. Thorp had been sent out from Bataan in January 1942 to organize the guerrillas. On 24 August, they were guided to Hukbalahap Headquarters on Mount Arayat, which then had them guided north to La Paz, Tarlac. They made their way north to Robert Lapham's camp, who then guided them even further north to Charlie Cushing's camp, where Herb Swick joined them. They then met up with Colonels Noble and Moses, Captain Parker Calvert, and Lieutenant Arthur P. Murphy, in North Luzon on 9 September.
Colonel Moses assumed command of guerrilla forces in North Luzon on 1 October 1942, and ordered coordinated attacks on Japanese forces starting on 15 October. Volckmann and Backburn joined Lieutenant Rufino Baldwin, Philippine Army, in attacks on the Japanese garrisons in the Sanhiglo and Balatoc area. Volckmann then established a new camp in Kiangan, Ifugao on 8 December 1942. Volckmann took command of the two thousand-man strong USAFIP-NL, when he was notified on 9 June 1943, of the capture of Colonels Moses and Noble. His orders from Douglas MacArthur's South West Pacific Area (SWPA) command, were to "...limit hostilities and contact with the enemy to the minimum...your present mission as intelligence units can be of utmost value."
On 24 November 1943, Volckmann organized his army into seven districts: 1st District under Major Parker Calvert; 2nd and 3rd Districts under Major George Barnett; 4th District under Major Ralph Praeger; 5th District under Major Romulo Manriquez; 6th District under Captain Robert Lapham; and the 7th District under Volckmann and Blackburn. In early 1944, Volckmann established the United States Army Forces in the Philippines – Northern Luzon [or United States Armed Forces in the Philippines – Northern Luzon] (USAFIP-NL) Headquarters in western Benguet and, in August 1944, received a radio set allowing direct contact with SWPA for the first time since March 1943. On 30 October 1944, Volckmann's forces rescued Esperanza Escolar Limjap-Osmeña, wife of Philippine President-in-exile Sergio Osmeña, and their family from Baguio. In November, Lieutenant Colonel Volckmann's forces were first supplied by submarine, the USS Gar.
After the start of the Battle of Leyte, Volckmann's forces eliminated the Philippine Constabulary units created by the Japanese, who did not surrender. Volckmann organized the Commonwealth military and guerrilla resistance among the Ifugao's 11th Infantry Battalion led by 1st Lieutenants: Francisco Balanban, Alpha Company; Guinid Tuguinay, Bravo Company; and Pedro Dulnuan Sr., Administration. Volckmann's forces operated in the western and northern coasts of Luzon, launching attacks against the Japanese occupiers. During the U.S. and Filipino invasion of the Philippines in January 1945, Colonel Volckmann's guerrillas cut key communication lines and bridges and isolated barracks. Once the invasion had landed, he led attacks against the retreating Japanese forces far behind the lines, capturing bases and air fields, thereby allowing the American advance to proceed at a much quicker pace.
When the Battle of Luzon began, COL Volckmann's guerrillas numbered about 8,000 men but grew to 18,000 when supplied by the Sixth United States Army. This consisted of five Infantry Regiments, the 11th, 14th, 15th, 66th, and the 121st, with Volckmann as the Commander, United States Armed Forces in the Philippines—Northern Luzon (Military and Guerrillas). His force played an instrumental role in the Battles of Bacsil Ridge; Bessang Pass; and Mayoyao Ridge.
Post-War Service:
Colonel Volckmann briefly returned to the United States in December 1945 to reunite with his family. After two months of leave and medical treatment due to his exposure to various diseases in the Philippines, he returned to the Philippines to assist in unfinished business related to his command as the guerrilla leader of North Luzon. This included investigation of war crimes, payments to civilians of vouchers issued during the war, and confirmation of pay to local soldiers and guerrilla fighters. He was unable to return to the United States until July 1946. Due to his illnesses and the stress of continual combat, Volckmann was not released as a medical patient until early 1948.
After his official release as a patient, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, now Army Chief of Staff, ordered Volckmann to write what would become the Army's first official counterinsurgency doctrine. During 1948–49, Volckmann wrote the new technical manual, based on his experiences in the Philippines. In September 1950, FM 31-20 Operations Against Guerrilla Forces was released. This was just in time, since the Korean War had begun when the North Koreans invaded South Korea in June 1950. The North Koreans made extensive use of guerrillas and regular U.S. Army doctrine was ineffective against them.
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur requested that Colonel Volckmann be immediately assigned to Eighth Army Headquarters, and he appointed Volckmann as Executive Officer of the Special Activities Group (SAG)-Far East Command, a combination of U.S. Army Rangers, U.S. Marines and South Korean troops. The unit was commanded by Colonel Louis B. Ely, a veteran of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). As Executive Officer, Volckmann's duties were to plan and conduct guerrilla activities behind North Korean lines. Less than six months into this new position, Volckmann was evacuated to the U.S. due to a relapse of a medical condition, most likely a severe stomach ulcer that he had incurred in the Philippines.
Upon his return, Volckmann began a new writing assignment and, in 1951, FM 31-21 Organization and Conduct of Guerrilla Warfare was released. Brigadier General Robert A. McClure, Director of the Office of the Chief of Psychological Warfare (OCPW), asked Volckmann to become OCPW's Chief of Plans—Special Operations Division. Joining Volckman were Colonel Aaron Bank, a former OSS operative who served with the Jedburghs * in Europe; Colonel Wendell Fertig, another major leader of guerrilla resistance in the Philippines; and Colonel Melvin Blair, a veteran of "Merrill's Marauders." [*Operation Jedburgh was a clandestine operation during World War II in which personnel of the British Special Operations Executive; the U.S. Office of Strategic Services; the Free French Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action (Intelligence and Operations Central Bureau); and the Dutch and Belgian Armies, were dropped by parachute into Nazi-occupied France, the Netherlands, and Belgium to conduct sabotage and guerrilla warfare, and to lead the local resistance forces in actions against the Germans.]
During 1953–54, Colonel Volckmann attended the National War College, in Washington, DC. In his next assignment, COL Volckmann was Chief of Special Operations Division, U.S. European Command from 1954–56. Volckmann completed the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, GA, in 1956. At 45 years of age, he was one of the oldest soldiers to take and complete that Course. Volckmann was promoted to Brigadier General on 31 December 1956 and the Course was required since he then served as Assistant Division Commander, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, NC, until July 1957.
In July 1957, Brigadier General Volckmann retired from the Army after 23 years of active duty.
Post-Military Life:
In retirement, Volckmann was President of Volckmann Furniture Manufacturing Company in Morrison, IL. He was also President of Zeffyr Industries and President of Volckmann Division of Ethan Allen Inc., from 1970 until his retirement in 1977.
Volckmann remained active in military matters. For example, in 1962 he was asked by the U.S. Air Force to lead a Rand Corporation study panel on the feasibility of air support in counterinsurgency operations.
Medals, Awards and Badges: Promotion History:
Due to his service with irregular troops in the Philippines and the subsequent loss of contact with the U.S. Army, Volckmann's promotions were also irregular. Promoted to major on 31 January 1942, months before his escape to North Luzon, he then received temporary promotion to lieutenant colonel on 20 November 1944, and a temporary promotion to colonel on 21 January 1945. However, he reverted to permanent lieutenant colonel on 1 August 1946, and then to colonel again, this time also permanent, on 1 February 1953. He received his final promotion to brigadier general on 31 December 1956.
Founders of U.S. Army Special Forces
The Special Forces Association lists Volckmann as one of three men who "used their wartime experience to formulate the doctrine of unconventional warfare that became the cornerstone of SF [Special Forces]." Colonel Aaron Bank often receives credit for being the true founder, but this is because he created the Table of Organization for the Special Forces and commanded the first units. In addition, in a letter dated 23 February 1969, COL Bank gives credit to Volckmann for "the development of position, planning and policy papers that helped see the establishment of Special Forces units in the active Army." Volckmann and Colonel Wendell Fertig both commanded corps-sized guerrilla units in the Philippines in World War II and organized them from the ground up. It was they who developed the doctrine of U.S. military guerrilla insurgency that guides the Special Forces today. One authority even lists COL Fertig as one of the top ten guerrilla leaders in history.
Family:
Following his graduation from West Point, Volckmann married Nancy Sorley in August 1934. In 1936, a son, Russell William Volckmann, Jr., was born. Although both accompanied him to the Philippines in 1940, they were forced to return to the U.S. with other military dependents in August 1941. In March 1942, Nancy received a letter from him before the surrender of Bataan and it was the last his family heard from him until January 1945. Upon Volckmann's second return to the U.S. in July 1946, his wife Nancy requested a divorce, which was finalized in August 1947.
Volckmann married Helen Rich on 28 August 1948 and they had two sons; William (born 1954) and Edward (born 1961). Russell and Helen remained married until his death in 1982.
Death and Burial:
Brigadier General Russell William Volckmann died on 30 June 1982 in Iowa City, IA. He is buried at Springdale Cemetery in Clinton, Clinton County, IA.
Attending his funeral were several officials representing the Philippine government: Brigadier General Angel G. Kanapi, Defense Attache of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC; Mr. Nick Nor Paynor Jr., Aide to General Kanapi; and Mr. Esperanto Curaming, representing the Philippine Consul General of Chicago. Also in attendance was Brigadier General Donald Blackburn [Honoree Record ID 306590] of McLean, VA, who served with him in the Philippines.
Source: Military Hall of Honor