*Coincidentally, Don Blackburn would hold this same position eleven years later.
APPENDIX A
Volckmann’s Citation for the Distinguished Service Cross
Headquarters
United States Armed Forces in the Far East
27 January 1945
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved 9 July 1918 (Bulletin 43, 1918), the Distinguished Service Cross was awarded by the Commanding General, United States Armed Forces in the Far East, on 21 January 1945 to the following named officer:
Lieutenant Colonel Russell W. Volckmann, (019537), Infantry, United States Army.
For extraordinary heroism in action in the Philippine Islands from 9 April 1942 to 20 January 1945. Having escaped from the enemy on Bataan on 9 April 1942, this officer made his way through the enemy lines to Northern Luzon, Philippines, where he has since organized, encouraged, and directed sectors of continued resistance and developed detailed information on enemy dispositions and movement throughout the area, thereby assisting materially in the campaign of liberation. In demonstrated exemplary courage and devotion to duty he has inspired the officers and men under his command to perform service of great value under the most difficult conditions.
Entered United States Military Academy from Iowa.
By command of General MacArthur:
Richard J. Marshall,
Major General, General Staff Corps,
Chief of Staff.
APPENDIX B
The Career Chronology of Russell W. Volckmann
12 June 1934—Graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
1934—Student Officer, Infantry Officer Basic Course, Fort Benning, Georgia.
1934–1936—Rifle Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
1937–1938—Student Officer, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Fort Benning, Georgia.
1938–1940—Company Commander, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
1940–1946—Philippine Islands.
Commander, H Company, 31st Infantry Regiment (US)
Executive Officer and Commander, 11th Infantry Regiment, 11th Division (Philippine Army)
Division Intelligence Officer, 11th Division (Philippine Army) Commander, United States Armed Forces in the Philippines–North Luzon (Guerrillas).
1946–1948—Headquarters, Army Personnel Division, Washington DC.
1948–1950—Research Fellow, US Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. Drafted FM 31-20 Operations Against Guerrilla Forces and FM 31-21 Organization and Conduct of Guerrilla Forces.
1950–1951—Headquaters, Eighth Army; Executive Officer, Special Activities Group.
1951–1953—Chief of Plans, Special Operations Division, Office of the Chief of Psychological Warfare (OCPW).
1953–1954—National War College, Washington DC.
1954–1956—Chief of Special Operations Division, US European Command (EUCOM).
1956—Basic Airborne Course, Fort Benning, Georgia.
1956–1957—Assistant Division Commander, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg North Carolina.
1957—Retired at the rank of Brigadier General.
1958–1977—President, Volckmann Furniture Company.
June 1977—Volckmann Furniture Company’s remaining interests sold to Ethan Allen Company. Volckmann then split his time between homes in Clinton, Iowa and Harlingen, Texas before his death in 1982.
Promotions:
Second Lieutenant—12 June 1934
First Lieutenant—12 June 1935
Captain—15 June 1937
Major—31 January 1942
Lieutenant Colonel—20 November 1944 (temporary)
Colonel—21 January 1945 (temporary)
Lieutenant Colonel—1 August 1946
Colonel—1 February 1953
Brigadier General—31 December 1956
Awards:
Distinguished Service Cross (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
Army Commendation Medal
Korean Service Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
American Defense Service Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Badges:
Combat Infantryman Badge
Parachutist Badge (Airborne Wings)
Notes
Chapter 1
1. Interview with Russell W. Volckmann, Jr., 21 February 2007.
2. Stansberry, Ruth Volckmann, Untitled write-up explaining the nature behind the photograph of the young Volckmann with John Smoller. Smoller eventually went on to serve as a Field Artillery officer with the 13th Armored Division in World War II.
3. Interview with Russell W. Volckmann, Jr., 21 February 2007; Volckmann, “Career Chronology of Russell W. Volckmann,” attachment to 21 March 1969 letter to History Office, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Special Operations Archives.
4. Interview with Russell W. Volckmann, Jr., 21 February 2007; Register of Graduates and Former Cadets.
5. Volckmann, We Remained, p.3.
6. Ibid; Interview with Russell W. Volckmann, Jr., 21 February 2007.
7. Ibid.
8. Matloff and Snell, Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare, p.2–5.
9. Ibid.
10. Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, p.9–12.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid, p.14–25.
13. Ibid.
14. Matloff and Snell, Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare, p.2–5.
15. Interview with Russell Volckmann, Jr., 21 February 2007; Volckmann, We Remained, p.4–5.
16. Volckmann, We Remained, p.6.
17. Volckmann, Guerrilla Days in North Luzon, p.1–4; Volckmann, We Remained, p.7.
18. Volckmann, We Remained, p.7.
19. Blackburn Oral History, p.42, MHI.
20. Volckmann, We Remained, p.8–9.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
Chapter 2
23. Volckmann’s War Diary, 8 December 1941. Hereafter referred to as “War Dairy.”
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. War Diary, 14 December 1941; Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, p.100–106. To complete their initial landings, the Japanese divided the 2nd Formosa Infantry within two task forces (code-named Tanaka and Kanno) each containing roughly 2,000 men. Tanaka was the first to land at Aparri, followed by Kanno at Vigan.
27. War Diary, 25 December 1941.
28. Ibid, 27 December 1941.
29. Ibid.
30. Volckmann, We Remained, p.17.
31. Ibid; War Diary, 30 December 1941
32. Volckmann, We Remained, p.18.
33. War Diary, 31 December 1941; Volckmann, We Remained, p.18–19.
34. Ibid.
35. War Diary, 31 December 1941.
36. Ibid.
37. Volckmann, We Remained, p.21.
38. War Diary, 2 January 1942.
39. War Diary, 3 January 1942; Volckmann, We Remained, p.23
40. War Diary, 3–4 January 1942.
Chapter 3
41. Volckmann, We Remained, p.24.
42. Ibid.
43. War Diary, 12 January 1942.
44. Volckmann, We Remained, p.25.
45. War Diary, 25–26 January 1942.
46. War Diary, 27–28 January 1942; Volckmann, We Remained, p.26.
47. Ibid.
48. Volckmann, We Remained, p.27; War Diary, 3 February 1942.
49. War Diary, 1–10 February, 29 February 1942.
50. War Diary, 31 March, 1–9 April 1942.
51. The Diary of Colonel John P. Horan, 19 December 1941–1 January 1942, The Donald D. Blackburn Collection. Hereafter referred to as
“Horan Diary.”
52. Volckmann letter to American Forces Pacific Area Command (AFPAC) “Date of Recognition: United States Armed Forces in the Philippines–North Luzon”, 26 November 1945, RG 407, Box 468, NARA.
53. Volckmann, We Remained, p.41.
54. War Diary, 9 April 1942; Blackburn Oral History, p.67, MHI.
55. Blackburn, “War within a War: The Philippines 1942–1945”, Conflict, Volume 7–2, p.131.
56. War Diary, 9 April 1942; Volckmann, We Remained, p.43.
57. Ibid.
58. War Diary, 10 April 1942; Blackburn Oral History, p.68, MHI; Volckmann, We Remained, p.43–44.
59. Blackburn Oral History, p.126, MHI; Lapham, Lapham’s Raiders, p.11–15.
60. Blackburn Oral History, p.68, MHI; Interview with Edwin P. Ramsey, 3 August 2008.
61. Volckmann, We Remained, p.44.
62. War Diary, 15 April 1942. Volckmann records the incident on this date, but indicates that it occurred around this time earlier in the week; Blackburn Oral History, p.72, MHI.
63. Volckmann, We Remained, p.45.
64. War Diary, 10 April 1942; Volckmann, We Remained, p.46.
65. War Diary, 10 April 1942; Volckmann, We Remained, p.47.
66. War Diary, 11 April 1942.
67. Volckmann, We Remained, p.48.
68. War Diary, 11 April 1942; Volckmann, We Remained, p.48.
69. Ibid; War Diary, 12 April 1942.
70. Volckmann, We Remained, p.49; Blackburn Oral History,
p.72, MHI.
71. Volckmann, We Remained, p.50.
72. War Diary, 13 April 1942.
73. War Diary, 14 April 1942.
74. Ibid; Volckmann, We Remained, p.52.
Chapter 4
75. Volckmann does not give many details surrounding his relationship with Moses and Noble. He never mentions them until the entry for 17 April 1942, confirming that he had met them earlier in Bataan. Blackburn, however, indicates that Volckmann spoke with Moses and Noble about his escape plans at least once before the surrender. It appears that Volckmann, Blackburn, Moses, and Noble may have planned their escape as a foursome, but were somehow separated amidst the confusion of the final battle.
76. War Diary, 18 April 1942.
77. In the entry for 17 June 1942, Volckmann writes about learning of Whiteman’s death back at Abucay. He had succumbed to fever.
78. War Diary, 18 April 1942.
79. Ibid, 20–21 April 1942.
80. Ibid, 22 April 1942; Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, 66.
81. War Diary, 23 April 1942.
82. Ibid, 29 April 1942.
83. Blackburn Oral History, p.74–75, MHI; Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, 50–51.
84. War Diary, 1–2 May 1942.
85. Ibid, 3 May 1942.
86. Ibid, 5–7 May 1942.
87. Ibid, 31 May 1942.
88. Ibid, 3–5 June 1942.
89. Ibid, 15 June 1942; Volckmann, We Remained, p.62.
90. Volckmann, We Remained, p.62; HQ PHILRYCOM Claims Service, “Fassoth Camp,” RG 407, Box 256, NARA.
91. War Diary, 19 June 1942.
92. Volckmann, We Remained, p.63.
93. War Diary, 22 June 1942.
94. Ibid, 23 June 1942; HQ PHILRYCOM Claims Service, “Fassoth Camp,” RG 407, Box 256, NARA.
95. Why Bernia had been spared from the Japanese onslaught remains unknown. His name appears only briefly in the Philippine Archives section of the U.S. National Archives. The Japanese may have bypassed his plantation because they saw potential value in its resources as well as the influence of its owner. Nonetheless, Volckmann never discusses it. Tragically, Bernia did not survive
the war.
96. HQ PHILRYCOM Claims Service, “Fassoth Camp,” RG 407, Box 256, NARA; Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, p.61–64.
97. Ibid.
98. Ibid.
99. Ibid.
100. The only news reports that Volckmann documented were discouraging in nature.
101. Blackburn Oral History, p. 80–81, MHI.
102. Ibid.
103. Ibid, p.81.
104. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, p.60.
105. War Diary, 14 August 1942; Blackburn Oral History, p.84–85, MHI.
106. Dizon, “Complete Data Covering the Guerrilla Activities of the Late Colonel Claude A. Thorp”, Army G1, RG 407, Box 258, NARA. Some sources, however, indicate that General Jonathan Wainwright (the senior field commander under MacArthur) gave Thorp the authorization.
107. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, p.62
108. Ibid.
109. War Diary, 18–19 August 1942.
110. War Diary, 20 August 1942.
111. War Diary, 21 August 1942; Blackburn Oral History, p.88, MHI.
112. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, p.69–70; Blackburn Oral History, p.86, MHI.
113. War Diary, 24 August 1942.
114. Ibid.
115. War Diary, 25 August 1942.
116. Blackburn Oral History, p.91–92; Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, p.78.
117. Interview with Edwin P. Ramsey, 3 August 2008.
118. War Diary, 27 August 1942.
119. War Diary, 29 August 1942.
120. Ibid.
121. Volckmann, We Remained, p.75.
122. War Diary, 30 August 1942.
123. War Diary, 31 August 1942.
124. Ibid; Volckmann, We Remained, p.76–77.
125. War Diary, 1 September 1942.
126. War Diary, 2–3 September 1942; Blackburn Oral History, p.95, MHI.
127. Volckmann, We Remained, 78.
128. War Diary, 4 September 1942.
129. War Diary, 5–7 September 1942.
130. Volckmann, We Remained, p.80.
131. War Diary, 7–8 September 1942.
132. War Diary, 9 September 1942.
Chapter 5
133. War Diary, 9 September 1942; Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, 94.
134. Blackburn, “War within a War: The Philippines 1942–1945”, Conflict, Volume 7–2, p.139, 143.
135. War Diary, 9 September 1942; A Brief History of the USAFFE Guerrillas, RG 407, Box 258, NARA; Erieta, “North Luzon Guerrilla Warfare and Governor Roque Ablan’s Exiled Commonwealth Government,” RG 407, Box 297, NARA.
136. War Diary, 9 September 1942; Volckmann, Guerrilla Days in North Luzon, p.18–19.
137. Volckmann, We Remained, p.84; Harkins, Blackburn’s Headquarters, p.98.
138. War Dairy, 10–11 September 1942.
139. War Diary, 12 September 1942.
140. War Diary, 12–15 September 1942.
141. “Ekip” is a transliteration for the Spanish pronunciation of “equip.” Volckmann and Blackburn in their respective diaries use “Equip” and “Ekip” in reference to the same barrio.
142. War Diary, 16 September 1942.
143. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, 101.
144. Ibid.
145. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, 103.
146. War Diary, 20 September 1942.
147. War Diary, 1 October 1942. Volckmann recorded that he lost his .45 caliber pistol while crossing a stream.
148. War Diary, 1–14 October 1942.
149. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, 103.
150. Ibid; War Diary, 15 October 1942.
151. War Diary, 22 October 1942; Blackburn Oral History, p.109–110, MHI.
152. Ibid.
153. War Diary, 27 October 1942.
154. Ibid.
155. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters,108.
156. Volckmann, “Form for Induction into the Armed Forces of the United States,” October 1942 (original publication date of the form, used continuously throughout guerrilla war), The Volckmann Family Collection.
157. A Brief History of the USAFFE Guerrillas, RG 407, Box 258, NARA.
158. War Diary, 29 October 1942.
159. Volckmann, We Remained, 91.
1
60. War Diary, 9 November 1942.
161. War Diary, 9–10 November 1942.
162. War Diary, 11 November 1942.
163. War Diary, 12 November 1942.
164. Ibid; Volckmann, We Remained, p.92.
165. War Diary, 13 November 1942.
166. Ibid.
167. War Diary, 15–20 November 1942.
168. Ibid.
169. Ibid.
170. Volckmann, We Remained, p.96. Emphasis added.
171. War Diary, 28 November 1942.
172. Volckmann, We Remained, p.97.
173. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, 116–17.
174. War Diary, 23, 25 November 1942.
175. War Diary, 26 November 1942.
176. War Diary, 28 November 1942.
177. War Diary, 29 November 1942. Volckmann introduces Herrin on 29 November but does not mention he is Unitarian minister until the entry for 17 January 1943.
178. War Diary, 28 November 1942.
179. Blackburn Oral History, p.118–19, MHI.
180. Blackburn Oral History, p.125, MHI.
181. War Diary, 29 November 1942; Blackburn Oral History, p.134, MHI.
182. War Diary, 31 May and 21 July 1943.
183. War Diary, 4 December 1942.
184. War Diary, 1 January 1943.
185. War Diary, 25–31 December 1942.
Chapter 6
186. War Diary, entries throughout January 1943; General Sato Oki, “Plan of Propaganda,” General Orders–14th Imperial Japanese Army, 10 June 1942, The Donald D. Blackburn Collection.
187. Blackburn Oral History, p.127, MHI.
188. Ibid, p.134, MHI.
189. Volckmann, We Remained, p.101.
190. War Diary, 7 March 1943; Blackburn Oral History, p.115, MHI.
191. Ibid.
192. War Diary, 27–29 March 1943.
193. Volckmann, We Remained, p.111.
194. Blackburn Oral History, p.117–18, MHI.
195. War Diary, 27 April 1943
196. Ibid.
197. Harkins, Blackburn’s Headhunters, p.145.
198. War Diary, 20 March 1943.
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