Rex Applegate
| Rex Applegate | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rex Applegate June 21, 1914 Yoncalla, Oregon, United States |
| Died | July 14, 1998 (aged 84) 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.
Applegate was born on June 21, 1914 in Oregon. He was a descendant of Charles Applegate, who blazed the Oregon Trail in 1843 with his brothers Jesse and Lindsay and established the Applegate Trail. Applegate began hunting and shooting at a young age and learned marksmanship from his uncle Gus Peret who was a famed exhibition shooter and professional hunter at the time. Applegate graduated from the University of Oregon with a Business Degree in 1940 and went on to take a commission in the US Army as a Second Lieutenant. His first billet was with the 209th Military Police Company as a lung ailment kept him from holding a combat position.
In 1941 Applegate was developing armed and unarmed close quarter combat courses for the US Army when he was recruited by Wild Bill Donovan for the OSS, specifically to build and run what was called "The School for Spies and Assassins", the location of which is now Camp David. Donovan had Applegate learn all that he could about armed and unarmed fighting from William E. Fairbairn to form a brutal and effective system. He was the close-combat coordinator for all clandestine missions and this role brought him into contact with other fighters and martial artists of the time period such as a Finnish soldier who killed 21 Russians with a knife and the founder of the British SAS: David Stirling.
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