| Benjamin Henry Dorsey Jr. |
Benjamin H. Dorsey Jr., lawyer who
successfully defended
officer in war crimes
case, dies at 86
By Matt Schudel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 16, 2011; 8:32 PM
Benjamin H. Dorsey Jr., 86, a
Washington lawyer who specialized in
securities law and successfully defended a
high-ranking Army officer charged with war
crimes in Vietnam, died Feb. 10 of
congestive heart failure at the Carriage Hill nursing facility in Bethesda. He
was a Bethesda resident.
After working for a forerunner of the Small Business Administration, Mr.
Dorsey joined a private law practice in the early 1950s and ultimately
became a partner in the Washington firm of Dorsey & Callahan.
In 1971, Mr. Dorsey was the civilian lawyer for Army Brig. Gen. John W.
Donaldson, who had been charged with killing six Vietnamese civilians in
1968 and 1969. Donaldson, the highest-ranking officer accused of war
crimes during the Vietnam War, was not associated with the My Lai
massacre, in which hundreds of Vietnamese were killed.
After a four-month military judicial proceeding, in which Mr. Dorsey
worked closely with an Army lawyer, Donaldson was exonerated.
Benjamin Henry Dorsey Jr. was born Feb. 13, 1924, in Portsmouth,
N.H., and grew up primarily in Washington and on a family farm in Ellicott
City. His father was a rear admiral in the Navy Medical Corps.
After attending Wilson High School in the District, Mr. Dorsey
graduated from a boarding school in Pennsylvania. He was a 1945 graduate
of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and received a
law degree from George Washington University in 1948.
In 1959, he argued a securities and insurance case before the Supreme
Court, SEC v. Variable Life Insurance Co., in which the court held that
variable annuity insurance contracts could be regulated by the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
In 1960, he was a founder of the Washington Real Estate Investment
Trust, a real estate investment concern. He was the trust's general counsel
and secretary until 1995 and remained a trustee until 1998. He also retired
from his law practice in 1998.
Mr. Dorsey was a member of the Metropolitan Club and the boards of
directors of the Bulova Watch Co. and Travelers Aid International.
In 1955, he married Elizabeth Bradley Beukema, the daughter of Army
Gen. Omar Bradley. She lives in Bethesda.
Mr. Dorsey's other survivors include two children, Melanie G. Dorsey of
Potomac and Benjamin H. Dorsey III of Tampa; three stepchildren, Henry
S. Beukema Jr. of Pittsburgh, Omar Bradley Beukema of Chevy Chase and
Anne Bradley Doggett of Arlington County; 11 grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren.
successfully defended
officer in war crimes
case, dies at 86
By Matt Schudel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 16, 2011; 8:32 PM
Benjamin H. Dorsey Jr., 86, a
Washington lawyer who specialized in
securities law and successfully defended a
high-ranking Army officer charged with war
crimes in Vietnam, died Feb. 10 of
congestive heart failure at the Carriage Hill nursing facility in Bethesda. He
was a Bethesda resident.
After working for a forerunner of the Small Business Administration, Mr.
Dorsey joined a private law practice in the early 1950s and ultimately
became a partner in the Washington firm of Dorsey & Callahan.
In 1971, Mr. Dorsey was the civilian lawyer for Army Brig. Gen. John W.
Donaldson, who had been charged with killing six Vietnamese civilians in
1968 and 1969. Donaldson, the highest-ranking officer accused of war
crimes during the Vietnam War, was not associated with the My Lai
massacre, in which hundreds of Vietnamese were killed.
After a four-month military judicial proceeding, in which Mr. Dorsey
worked closely with an Army lawyer, Donaldson was exonerated.
Benjamin Henry Dorsey Jr. was born Feb. 13, 1924, in Portsmouth,
N.H., and grew up primarily in Washington and on a family farm in Ellicott
City. His father was a rear admiral in the Navy Medical Corps.
After attending Wilson High School in the District, Mr. Dorsey
graduated from a boarding school in Pennsylvania. He was a 1945 graduate
of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and received a
law degree from George Washington University in 1948.
In 1959, he argued a securities and insurance case before the Supreme
Court, SEC v. Variable Life Insurance Co., in which the court held that
variable annuity insurance contracts could be regulated by the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
In 1960, he was a founder of the Washington Real Estate Investment
Trust, a real estate investment concern. He was the trust's general counsel
and secretary until 1995 and remained a trustee until 1998. He also retired
from his law practice in 1998.
Mr. Dorsey was a member of the Metropolitan Club and the boards of
directors of the Bulova Watch Co. and Travelers Aid International.
In 1955, he married Elizabeth Bradley Beukema, the daughter of Army
Gen. Omar Bradley. She lives in Bethesda.
Mr. Dorsey's other survivors include two children, Melanie G. Dorsey of
Potomac and Benjamin H. Dorsey III of Tampa; three stepchildren, Henry
S. Beukema Jr. of Pittsburgh, Omar Bradley Beukema of Chevy Chase and
Anne Bradley Doggett of Arlington County; 11 grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren.
