Dave Doran, Brigade Commissar 

Dave Doran, Brigade Political Commissar, is an outstanding exam- 
ple of the type of youth now in command in the XV Brigade and in the 
Republican Army as well. Quick in thought, decisive in action, mature 
in judgement, Doran has been long an organizer and leader of men. 
Although only 28 years of age he joined the Young Communist 
League while still in his teens and has taken an active part ever since 
in the organization of workers in the United States. His ability brought 
him quickly to the fore, and he has been a member of the National Exe- 
cutive Council of the League for many years. Son of a paper-mill work- 
er of Albany, N.Y., he had to quit school for work at an early age. 
Among others, he tried his hand at picking cotton and put in a few 
years at sea. At one time he spent ninety days on the chain-gang in 
Texas for the heinous crime of distributing leaflets that called for the 
organization of agricultural workers. Undeterred, he undertook to do 
organizational work in Alabama, a very risky and illegal undertaking. 
His partner in this work was Angelo Herndon, internationally known 
Negro youth-leader, with whom Dave Doran worked, campaigning and 
organizing Negro and White workers in the struggle against the common 
enemy. 
As an organizer in the South, in the Pittsburgh steel and coal area, 
in the East and in the Middle West Dave Doran had learned how to 
win the respect of his fellow workers, how to employ the weapon of 
political understanding and clarity to overcome seemingly unsurmoun- 
table obstacles. 
His record at Belchite — described elsewhere in this book — is not 
an isolated act. He has been known to volunteer and carry out dan- 
gerous assignments on many occasions where quick results were ca- 
lled for. 
Years of training and experience make Dave Doran examine eve- 
ry political problem before acting on it. Despite his preoccupation with 
political matters he has a strong flair for the military sciences. It was 
this fortunate combination that enabled him to play a very important 
role in raising the military efficiency of the Brigade, raising its political 
level at the same time. 
S. M.

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