Early life Donald Frederick "Donn" Draeger was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 15, 1922. His parents were Frank and Irma (Poetsch) Draeger. In 1940, at age 17, he was living in Milwaukee with his father, his stepmother Dora, two half-brothers, and his father's stepfather and mother. He was married in
Bluefield, West Virginia, on June 18, 1949. During the next two years, Draeger and his wife had two sons. The family separated in the spring of 1951.
Military service Draeger served in the
United States Marine Corps from 1943 to 1956. He began his recruit training at
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in January 1943. After graduation, he attended
officer candidate school at
Marine Barracks Quantico. He was commissioned a
second lieutenant in April 1943. Draeger received branch training as a signal officer, and in October 1944, he was assigned to Corps Signal Battalion,
V Amphibious Corps. During February and March 1945, Corps Signal Battalion participated in the
Battle of Iwo Jima. In April 1945, Draeger was promoted to
first lieutenant, and transferred to
III Amphibious Corps, which was preparing for
the planned invasion of Japan. However, when the
Pacific War ended in August 1945, III Amphibious Corps instead went to North China to accept the surrender of Japanese soldiers, and from October 1945 to February 1946, Draeger served with a signal unit in
Tianjin, China. Draeger returned to the USA in the spring of 1946, and for the rest of the year, he served with Marine detachments in
Illinois,
Michigan, and Wisconsin. In January 1947, he was reassigned to
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. While at Camp Lejeune, he was promoted to
captain, commanded a company, and coached the base judo team. During the summer of 1951, Draeger was sent to
Korea, where he served as a signal officer in the
1st Marine Division. While in Korea, his secondary duties included teaching judo in the division support area near
Hongcheon. In October 1952, Draeger was reassigned to
Headquarters Marine Corps. His primary duty assignment was with the
Inter-American Defense Board. While in this billet, he held the rank of
major. Upon completion of this assignment, Draeger reverted to his permanent rank of captain, and he separated from the service on June 30, 1956.
Post-military In 1956, Draeger attended
Georgetown University in
Washington, DC, and in 1959, he was awarded the
Bachelor of Science degree from
Sophia University in
Tokyo. Draeger reportedly began his involvement in the martial arts while living in the
Chicago area, at around the age of 7 or 8. In 1952, Draeger was one of the leaders of the newly established US Judo Black Belt Association. This was the first national-level judo organization in North America, and the forerunner of what later became the
United States Judo Federation. Draeger's national-level postings included vice-president of the Pan-American Judo Association and chairman of the Public Relations Committee of the Amateur Judo Association of the United States. He also helped promote judo throughout the
Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Draeger officially represented US judo interests during international contests held in Cuba and Belgium in 1953, and in 1964, he was named the United States
Amateur Athletic Union judo representative in Japan, in anticipation of judo's inclusion in the
1964 Olympics. During this time, Draeger also trained in
Chinese martial arts, learning
baguazhang under
Wang Shujin while in Japan. By mediation of his training partner
Robert W. Smith, Draeger fought a challenge match against
Huang Sheng-shyan, defeating him by a choke. Smith had previously tried to get him to fight the renowned
Cheng Man-ch'ing, whom Draeger had previously criticized, but Draeger declined due to the heavy age difference between them. Draeger became a member of the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai, the oldest Japanese cultural organization for the study and preservation of
classical martial arts. He was the first non-Japanese practitioner of
Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, achieving instructor status (
kyoshi menkyo) in that system. He also held high ranks in
Shindo Muso-ryu jodo,
kendo,
karate and
aikido, among other arts. Draeger studied the evolution and development of human combative behavior and was director of the
International Hoplology Society (IHC) in Tokyo until his death in 1982.
Later years In his later years, Draeger spent four months a year on field trips throughout Asia. In 1979, Draeger and his team visited the island of
Sumatra. While visiting the
Aceh tribe there, it appears that the entire group was somehow poisoned, perhaps deliberately. He was buried at
Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee on October 25, 1982. His grave lies in Section 4, site 377. ==Books and other media==