Brigadier General Russell W. Volckmann

BG Russell W. Volckmann

Philippine Guerrilla Leader
and Special Forces Visionary (1911-1982)

Bio

BG Russell W. Volckmann was commissioned as an Infantry Officer from the U.S. Military Academy in 1934. After the fall of Bataan in 1942, he joined resistance forces on Luzon, and in late 1943 he was commanding the U.S. Armed Forces in the Philippines, North Luzon. A division-sized force of five regiments, his guerrillas supported GEN Douglas MacArthur’s return by attacking Japanese units retreating into mountainous redoubts.

In 1951 Volckmann authored FM 31-20: Operations Against Guerilla Forces, the seminal doctrinal foundation for U.S. Army unconventional operations.

During the Korean War, he planned and conducted partisan operations before assignment to the Office of the Chief of Psychological Warfare. Working for BG Robert A. McClure, he wrote the basic doctrine and structure for Special Forces (SF), and championed its creation in the U.S. Army.

Promoted to BG in 1956, Volckmann served as the Assistant Division Commander for the 82nd Airborne Division before retiring in 1957. He passed away in 1982. BG Volckmann was posthumously inducted as a Distinguished Member of the SF Regiment in 2016. The legacy of BG Russell W. Volckmann resides in SF doctrine and organization.

PHOTOS

1918: Russell and John Smoller as mascots for Company C.
Class of 1930: Shattuck Military Academy, Fairbault, MN.
Cadet Russell W. Volckmann as a USMA Cadet, Class of 1934. Graduating 189 in a class of 250, Volckmann was more inclined to athletics than academics. (USMA Howitzer yearbook, 1934)
2LT Russell W. Volckmann, U.S. Military Academy 1934, served with the 3rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
LTC Volckmann with a sword captured from a Japanese general. It reflects the damage inflicted on the enemy by his five guerrilla regiments.
1945-NOV: Camp Spencer (Luna, La Union, Phillipines)
1945-DEC: With Russell W. Volckmann II (age nine), Clinton, IA
1948-AUG: Wedding portrait. Married to Helen June Rich, Clinton, IA
1956: Basic Airbourne Course
1956 DEC 31: Promotion to Brigadier General
1957: Military parade
1957: Brigadier General Portrait #1 with parachute jump background
1957: Brigadier General Portrait #1
1957: Brigadier General Portrait #2
Des Monies Register 7 December 1945 newspaper article celebrates the return of Volckmann to his family after over four years.
By late 1943, MAJ Volckmann had organized Northern Luzon into five guerrilla regimental sectors to fight the Japanese.
Card certifying presence at the formal surrender.
Philippine Congressional Resolution of Thanks, 13 July 1945.
Philippine Resolution of Thanks to the “Liberator of Northern Luzon,” 15 October 1945.
War Department 19 January 1945 Battle Casualty Message after “returning to military control.”
Volckmann Casualty Report, 19 July 1943, declaring his status as Missing in Action as of 7 May 1942, after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor.
FM 31-20, Operations Against Guerilla Forces, the 1951 U.S. Army manual authored by Volckmann that laid the doctrinal foundation for unconventional warfare in the post-WWII era.
Daily Mail 6 June 1945 newsletter published by the U.S. Armed Forces in the Philippines, North Luzon.
Cover of Volckmann’s We Remained, a 1954 book of his Philippine WWII experiences.
In 1943 Volckmann re-organized his U.S. Armed Forces in the Philippines, North Luzon, into seven districts. <i>(We Remained photo)</i>
Locally made Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI) patch for the U.S. Armed Forces in the Philippines, North Luzon (USAFIP, NL).
Locally made Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI) patch for the U.S. Armed Forces in the Philippines, North Luzon (USAFIP, NL).