Donald Izacus Pandjaitan

Donald Isaac Pandjaitan (EYD: Donald Isaac Panjaitan; 9 June 1925 – 1 October 1965) was an Indonesian general who was killed during a kidnapping attempt by the members of the 30 September Movement. Of the six army generals killed in the coup attempt, he was the only Christian.

Early life D.I. Pandjaitan was born in Silaen, Balige in the Tapanuli region of North Sumatra. After completing elementary and high school, with the arrival of the invading Japanese, he underwent Japanese Giyūgun military education. He was then posted to Pekanbaru, and was there when Indonesian independence was declared on 17 August 1945.

Military career In November 1945, Pandjaitan, together with other young people, helped establish a local branch of the People’s Security Army (TKR), initially serving as a battalion commander. In March 1948, he was appointed commander for the organization and education of the XI/Banteng Division at Bukittinggi, West Sumatra. Not long after, he became the fourth deputy commander (supplies) for the Sumatran Army Command, then when the Dutch launched their Second Police Action against the republic, he was put in charge of supplies for the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia.

His body was put in a truck and brought to the movement’s headquarters at Lubang Buaya. His body, along with those of his colleagues who had also been killed, were thrown down a nearby disused well. The bodies were found on 4 October, and all were given a state funeral the following day. Pandjaitan, along with the other victims, are buried at the Kalibata Heroes’ Cemetery in South Jakarta. Pandjaitan was posthumously promoted to major general and awarded the title Hero of the Revolution.