The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: Wainright, Jonathan M. (original) (raw)
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The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia | |
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Wainwright, Jonathan Mayhew IV (1883-1953)
U.S. Army. Via Wikipedia Commons
"Skinny" Wainwright was born in Washington to a military family. He graduated from West Point in 1906 and wascommissioned in the cavalry, seeing service in the Old West and in the Philippinesbefore becoming an instructor of officer candidates just before the First World War. He served briefly in Francein 1918. Graduating from the Command and General Staff School in 1931 and the Army War College in 1934, he was promoted to brigadier general in 1938.
In September 1940 Wainwright was promoted to major general and command of Philippine Division, which formed the backbone of the defense after the Japaneseinvasion of the Phillipines in December 1941. He was given a corps command on Bataan and performed well in this assignment. He assumed MacArthur'scommand after the latter left for Australiain February of 1942. When Corregidorwas forced to surrender in May 1942, Wainwright was compelled to surrender all otherAmericanforces in the Philippines or see the Corregidor garrisonmassacred. For this he expected to be court-martialed, but after his release from a POWcamp he found that he had been promoted and awarded the Medal of Honor.
MacArthur'sChief of Staff, Richard Sutherland, described Wainwright as "one of the bravest men I knew. He was a cavalryman of the old school, utterly without personal fear, but strategically and tactically, he wasn't too good." Wainright's skillful organization of the withdrawal of North Luzon Force into Bataan suggests that all this was true except the last part.
Service record
| 1883-8-2 | Born at Walla Walla, Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| 1906 | Graduates from West Point, standing 25th in a class of 78 | |
| 1909 | 1 Cavalry Regiment | |
| 1918 | Chief of staff, 82 Division | |
| 1918 | Colonel | Chief of staff, 3 Army |
| 1934 | Commandant, Cavalry School | |
| 1936 | Commander, 3 Cavalry Regiment | |
| 1938 | Brigadier general | Commander, 1 Cavalry Brigade |
| 1940-9 | Major general | Commander, Philippine Division |
| 1941 | Commander, North Luzon Force | |
| 1942-3-19 | Lieutenant general | Commander, USAFFE |
| 1942-5-6 | Prisoner of war | |
| 1945-9-5 | General | |
| 1946-6 | Commander, 4 Army | |
| 1947-8-31 | Retires | |
| 1953-9-2 | Dies in San Antonio, Texas |
References
Generals.de (accessed 2007-11-26)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index
