Joseph W. Stilwell

The Japanese had more and better equipped and trained troops, however, and in 1942 Stilwell's forces were driven out of Burma into India after a brutal 140-mile retreat through the jungles. Stilwell was eventually given command of all US forces in the China-Burma-India theatre.

Four-star American army general nicknamed "Vinegar Joe" for his sour demeanor and lack of tact (he made no secret of the fact that he detested Gen. Douglas MacArthur, considering him a poor leader, a sub-par tactician and a self-serving egomaniac). Gained fame in World War II for his campaign against the Japanese in Southeast Asia, mainly Burma. Portrayed in the Steven Spielberg film 1941 (1979) by Robert Stack.

He studied and became fluent in the Chinese language, and was posted to the Chinese city of Tienjin from 1925-28 and was US military attache in Beijing from 1935-39. With the advent of World War II, Gen. Kai-Shek Chiang, the head of the Chinese Nationalist government, placed Stilwell in command of the Chinese Fifth and Sixth Armies in Burma.

Joseph W. Stilwell was a four-star general in n the US Army during World War II. He headed the US campaign against Japanese forces in both Burma and China, the Chinese Nationalist government having such confidence in him that they gave him command of its forces in that theater. Born in Palatka, FL, in 1883, Stilwell attended the US Army's Military Academy at West Point, NY, graduating in 1904. He served in the Philippines, then with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during WW I. After that he became an instructor at West Point.