Russell William Volckmann (September 23, 1911 - June 30, 1982) was a West Point graduate, a U.S. Army infantry officer and a leader of the guerrilla resistance to the Japanese conquest of the Philippines during World War II. After the war, he remained in the U.S. Army and helped create the U.S. Army Special Forces. In addition to his other services to his country, Russell Volckmann, at that time a colonel, is considered a co-founder of the U.S. Army Special Forces (the "Green Berets"), together with Colonels Aaron Bank and Wendell Fertig. He eventually retired as a brigadier general.