User:Joseph Svinth/sandbox

Personal
Donald Frederick "Donn" Draeger was born on April 15, 1922. His parents were Frank and Irma (Poetsch) Draeger of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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, the Draegers had two sons. The family separated in the summer of 1951.

In 1956, Draeger attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and in 1959, he was awarded a Bachelor of Science from Sophia University in Tokyo.

Draeger died on October 20, 1982, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Milwaukee. Cause of death was metastasized carcinoma. He was buried at Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee on October 25. His grave lies in Section 4, site 377.

Military
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. He subsequently received 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. He was then 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 was stationed 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 captain, 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.