Smith Dun
Lieutenant-General (Burmese Army) Brigadier (Indian Army) | |
---|---|
Service number | IC-3 (India) BC 5106 (Burma) |
Unit | Karen Rifles Burma Rifles |
Commands held | |
Battles/wars | |
Awards |
Personal life
He was an ethnic Karen and the first person belonging to the ethnic group to hold the office.
Dun retired to Kalaw where he died in 1979. he is buried in Kalaw Christian Cemetery. [1]
British Indian Army
Dun enlisted in the Indian Army on 8 November 1924, initially with the 10th battalion
He was commissioned a
He was serving attached to the Burma Military Police when the Japanese invaded in 1941. For his services on the retreat from Burma he was Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 28 October 1942). He attended the Staff College at Quetta and then saw further service in Burma, receiving another Mention in Despatches (London Gazette 5 April 1945) and later was awarded the Military Cross (London Gazette 17 January 1946) as a temporary Major attached the Burma Intelligence Corps. He was promoted to war-substantive lieutenant-colonel in the Indian Army, to acting colonel on 15 November 1945 and to temporary colonel on 5 May 1946.[2] He retired from the Indian Army on 3 January 1949 as an honorary brigadier.[3]
Burmese Army
In a move to build confidence in the Burmese Union that would include all ethnic groups, Dun, a Karen, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Burmese army and of the police forces when Burma gained its independence from Britain following World War II. However, in 1949 when the Karen began their war for independence from Burma, Dun was removed from his position. Dun was a loyal leader of the Burmese Army while maintaining a strong sense of his Karen ethnicity. Known as the "four-foot colonel" for his small stature, he kept his Karen soldiers disciplined although suspicion of his ethnic roots lingered even after his dismissal.
See also
- Indian Army
- Military of Myanmar
References
- ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ The Quarterly Army List: December 1946 (Part I). HM Stationery Office. 1946. pp. 220s–t.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 8 October 1949. p. 1470.
External links
- Dun, Smith. Memoirs of the Four-Foot Colonel. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 1980.