Army United States Major General Donald Volney Rattan, Retired

Major General Donald Volney Rattan, United States Army, Retired, died on March 8th, 2017, at The Army Residence Community in San Antonio, Texas, at the age of ninety-two. He was preceded in death by his parents, by his first wife, Jane Sedgwick Pratt, and by their beloved son, John Sedgwick Pratt Rattan. Surviving are his wife, Barbara Carver Schneider Rattan, and three children: Jean Rattan Gautsch and her husband, George; Nancy Pratt Rattan; and Donald McGregor Rattan (Mac).

Also surviving are his grandson Donald Rattan Lee, his wife, Nancy, and their children, Jake, Caroline, and Jessica; his granddaughter Elizabeth Lee Schilken, her husband, Chuck, and their son, Ben; and his grandson Major Charles Carter Lee, VAANG, his wife, Jamie, and their daughter, Eleanor.

General Rattan (affectionately known as "Snapper" by his friends and classmates) was born at Fort Benning, Georgia, on September 12th, 1924, to William Volney Rattan, an Infantry officer, and his wife, Rose Harriett Ross. As a child, he moved with his parents to various army posts including the Presidio. There he and his friend Joey quickly ingratiated themselves with the stable master who allowed them to take out horses every day so that they could ride up on the bluffs overlooking the San Francisco Bay. From that vantage point he and his friend "supervised" the building of The Golden Gate Bridge between 1933 and 1937...a youthful accomplishment of which he was quite proud. His most memorable experience while living at the Presidio, however, came about in 1935 when he became somewhat of a football team mascot for the University of Alabama. Because his father had scouted the Stanford team on behalf of Alabama, father and son were invited to stay in the team hotel and ride the team bus to practices and to the Rose Bowl game which Alabama, to the astonishment of all the pundits, won. Quite a heady adventure for a ten-year-old boy!

Six years later, at the age of sixteen, Snapper graduated from Staunton Military Academy. Too young to be appointed to West Point, he spent the following year at Sullivan Preparatory school and entered the United States Military Academy as a member of the class of 1945. He loved the academy and, as did so many of his classmates, adopted the school's motto--Duty, Honor, Country-- as his mantra.

During his year at Sullivan Prep he met a beautiful young woman, Jane Pratt, at a teen hop at Fort McNair. Their romance blossomed during Snapper's years at West Point, and they married shortly after he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Educational degrees received and schools attended: United States Military Academy- BS Degree, Military Science and Engineering; George Washington University - MA Degree, International Affairs; Military Schools Attended: The Infantry School, Basic and Advanced Courses, United States Army Command and Staff College, Armed Forces Staff College, NATO Defense College, United States Army War College.

Awards:

Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star (with Two Oak Leaf Clusters), Legion of Merit (with Two Oak Leaf Clusters), Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal with V Device (with Two Oak Leaf Clusters), Air Medal (Numeral 24), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Army of Occupation Medal (Japan), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Korean Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Congo), Vietnam Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross/SS, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross (Unit Citation with Palm) (2nd Award), CRWMP / Haile Selassie's Medal (Congo)

Badges:

Combat Infantryman's Badge (2nd Award), Master Parachutist's Badge, Army Aviator's Badge

General Staff Identification Badge

Key Assignments:

Deputy Commanding General, V United States Army, Commanding General, 8th Infantry Division, Assistant Division Commander, 82nd Airborne Division, Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps, Commanding Officer, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) - Vietnam

An avid life-long sports enthusiast, at West Point Snapper played lacrosse and after graduation participated as a player, coach, and referee in divisional football games. A gifted athlete, he also spent many enjoyable hours playing tennis, handball, racquetball, and golf (although he often said he only played "at" golf).

Not as enthusiastic about the arts as he was about sports, Snapper did, however, put his singular singing voice to good use by entering his children's bedrooms on school mornings and motivating them, with particularly discordant performance of " O What a Beautiful Morning," to pop quickly out of bed. Somewhere in the Rattan family memorabilia exists a photo of General Rattan standing on a dais with the mayor of Bad Kreuznach, Germany, during Oktoberfest, cheerfully belting out a rousing rendition of a beer house song. Judging from the slightly pained look on the mayor's face, one might assume that Snapper's vocalization had not improved with age.

After Jane's too-early death in 1992, Snapper remained a widower until 2011 when he married a lovely, vivacious widow, Barbara Schneider. Both Barbara and Snapper enjoyed entertaining their many friends and family members, frequently hosting cocktail and dinner parties both in their home and in the many fine clubs and restaurants in San Antonio.

Snapper's grandchildren provided him with a great sense of pride, both because of their accomplishments (all three earned post-graduate degrees) and because they are loving, caring spouses and parents. In his later years, he delighted over his own five great-grandchildren as well as the members of Barbara's family, of whom he was very fond.

Duty, Honor, Country...these were the beliefs that molded Donald Volney Rattan's character and made him an exemplar of fortitude, loyalty, stoicism, and courage throughout his life.

GRAVESIDE SERVICE

FRIDAY

MARCH 24, 2017

9:30 A.M.

FORT SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Memorial contributions may be made to the West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996 and to the National Infantry Museum, 1775 Legacy Way, Columbus, GA.