John W. Donaldson (1924–2008) was a brigadier general in the United States Army.
In the wake of the My Lai massacre conducted by units under the 11th Infantry Brigade that he commanded, Donaldson was criticized by several subordinates privately, including a letter sent by a Specialist Tom Glenn in November 1968 to William Westmoreland alleging that routine war crimes were standard operating procedures under Donaldson.
[1] On 2 June 1971, Donaldson was charged with the murder of six South Vietnamese civilians during operations in November 1968-January 1969 while conducting aerial reconnaissance in Quảng Ngãi Province.
[2] Helicopter pilots had alleged that Donaldson routinely fired upon civilians.
[4] Donaldson later retired from the Army in good standing and died on August 13, 2008, at the age of 84.