Donald Frederick Draeger, 60

[cmyr]

Wood National Cemetery

Draeger, Donald Frederick, b. 04/15/1922, d. 10/20/1982, US Marine Corps, CPT, Plot: 4 0 377, bur. 10/25/1982

[cmyr]

Donald "Donn" Draeger was born in Milwaukee, WI, in 1922 and as a child began a lifelong study of martial arts.
He served in the U.S. Marines Corps as a signal officer from 1943 to 1956. Captain Draeger held the rank of major during a temporary assignment from 1952-1956, and saw combat duty in World War II and Korea. His postings to the Pacific Rim encouraged his interest in martial arts, and he taught judo while stationed in Korea.
As a civilian he continued to travel in Asia and to promote judo in the United States and abroad; for example, he became the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union representative in 1964 in preparation for judo's debut as an Olympic sport that year. Draeger's research on human combative behavior, and his teaching and writing on Japanese martial arts, influenced a generation of practitioners.
In popular culture, he advised the actors in the martial arts sequences of the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice.
He died October 20, 1982, and is buried in Wood National Cemetery (Section 4, Site 377).