Rex Applegate
Rex Applegate | |
---|---|
Born | Rex Applegate June 21, 1914 San Diego, California, United States |
Occupation | Author and journalist |
Nationality | American |
Period | 1943–1998 |
Genre | Combatives |
Spouse | Edith, Carole |
Children | Shannon Applegate (daughter), Rex Applegate (son), Lisha Allen (daughter) |
Rex Applegate (June 21, 1914 – July 14, 1998) was an American military officer who worked for the Office of Strategic Services, where he trained Allied special forces personnel in close-quarters combat during World War II. He held the rank of colonel.
Early life
Applegate was born on June 21, 1914, in
World War II
In 1941, Applegate was developing armed and unarmed close quarter combat courses for the US Army at
At one point during the war, he served as the personal bodyguard to President
Postwar life
After the close of World War II, Applegate spent the next 15 years as an advisor to the government of Mexico who made him an "Honorary General".[3]
Applegate was friends with actor John Wayne and in addition to teaching Wayne how to shoot, Applegate served as a technical advisor on the set of The Alamo. Applegate was said to be the source and inspiration for several of Ian Fleming's characters in the James Bond novels.[3][4]
When not traveling to promote his pistol-shooting methods, Applegate spent his last years at the Applegate House in Yoncalla, Oregon and at his home in Scottsburg, Oregon. Rex Applegate's daughter, historian Shannon Applegate, who writes and lectures on Oregon and the Applegate family history, lives in the adjacent homestead. Granddaughter, Jessica Applegate Brown, owns and manages Applegate House Vineyards, an organic vineyard on the historic Applegate House property.
Battle methods
Unarmed combat
In 1943 he wrote Kill or Get Killed, which is still considered a classic manual of
Fleet Marine Force Reference Publication (FMFRP) 12-80, Kill or Get Killed, is published to ensure the retention and dissemination of useful information which is not intended to become doctrine or to be published in Fleet Marine Force manuals.
and
This reference publication was written in 1976 by Lieutenant Colonel Rex Applegate, USA (Ret), with the help of the Combat Section, Military Intelligence Training Center, Camp Ritchie, Maryland. At last there is one volume which speaks to the subjects of unarmed combat (offensive and defensive), combat use of weapons, disarming the enemy, handling of prisoners, the handle of mob/crowd disobedience, the use of chemicals in such situations, and how to establish a professional riot control unit.
Applegate developed the techniques outlined in the book during his work with William E. Fairbairn, who had previously developed his own techniques while working for the Shanghai Municipal Police from 1907 to 1940. Fairbairn drew heavily on Chinese martial arts, which he simplified and tailored to the needs of police training in one of the world's most crime-ridden cities, due to its history of crime related to the opium trade, the rebellion, and the activities of Triad gangsters. His result was the development of Defendu, widely considered the first of what became known as modern combatives.[5] Applegate's techniques are heavily based on Fairbairn's Defendu, enhanced with feedback from the OSS operatives who put his techniques into action during World War II.
Combat handgun techniques
Applegate was a proponent of the
Combat knife innovations
In the early 1980s, Applegate released a design called the
In the late 1980s Applegate released a modified version of Fairbairn's Smatchet, which had been used by the SAS and OSS during World War II. The development of this weapon began as a collaborative effort between Applegate and Fairbairn during the war. Applegate named his 10-inch (25 cm) double-edged knife the "Applegate-Fairbairn Combat Smatchet"; it was initially offered as a handmade knife by Bill Harsey, Jr., and later by Wells Creek Gun and Knife Works, and after that by Al Mar Knives. Following Mar's death, Böker Knives was licensed to produce it. Applegate later had Harsey design a "Mini-Smatchet" (with a 4.75-inch (12.1 cm) blade) which was produced by Boker.
Applegate was inducted into the
Books by Applegate
- Kill or Get Killed: A Manual of Hand-to-Hand Fighting (Military Service Publishing Co., 1943)
- Riot Control: Materiel and Techniques (The Stackpole Company, 1969)
- Kill or Get killed: Riot Control Techniques, Manhandling, and Close Combat (ISBN 9780873640848
- Scouting and Patrolling: Ground Reconnaissance Principles and Training (Paladin Press, 1980)
- Combat Use of the Double-Edged Fighting Knife (Paladin Press, 1993)
- The Close-Combat Files of Col. Rex Applegate (Paladin Press, 1998)[8]
- (with Michael Janich) Bullseyes Don't Shoot Back: the Complete Textbook of Point Shooting (Paladin Press, 1998) ISBN 978-0873649575
See also
- Combat knife
- "Yank" Levy
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-0-312-26436-9.
- ^ a b c Goldstein, Richard (July 27, 1998). "Rex Applegate, 84, Instructor of Deadly Skills". New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4116-6196-7.
- ISBN 978-1-85410-898-2.
- Black Belt Magazine. 39 (47). Active Interest Media: 74–77.
- ^ "CLOSE-COMBAT FILES OF COLONEL REX APPLEGATE". Archived from the original on March 12, 2006. Retrieved May 11, 2006.
- ^ "Colonel Applegate Inducted into the Hall of Fame". Blade Magazine. July 31, 1994.
- ISBN 978-0873649988
External links
- "The Smatchet" from William E. Fairbairn's Get Tough!
- USMC source for doctrinal materials[permanent dead link], including FMFRP 12-80
- The Applegate-Todd Connection
- Paladin Press Publisher of Colonel Applegate's books and videos.