Lieutenant General Smith Dun MC (11 November 1906 – 1979) was the commander-in-chief of the Burmese Army from 4 January 1948 to 1 February 1949.
He attended the Staff College at Quetta and then saw further service in Burma, receiving another Mention in Despatches (London Gazette 5 April 1945) and later was awarded the Military Cross (London Gazette 17 January 1946) as a temporary Major attached the Burma Intelligence Corps.
[3] In a move to build confidence in the Burmese Union that would include all ethnic groups, Dun, a Karen, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Burmese army and of the police forces when Burma gained its independence from Britain following World War II.
Dun was a loyal leader of the Burmese Army while maintaining a strong sense of his Karen ethnicity.
Known as the "four-foot colonel" for his small stature, he kept his Karen soldiers disciplined although suspicion of his ethnic roots lingered even after his dismissal.