Joseph Stilwell of San Francisco are named for him. Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe". Distrust of his Allies and a lack of resources meant Stilwell was continually forced to improvise. He famously differed as to strategy, ground troops versus air power, with his subordinate, Claire Chennault, who had the ear of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. General George Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, acknowledged he had given Stilwell
Joseph Stilwell faced with the loss of a critical area... with possible catastrophic consequences". Roosevelt ended his ultimatum to Chiang with the threat to end all American aid unless Chiang "at once" placed Stilwell "in unrestricted command of all your forces." General Chennault later claimed that Stilwell had deliberately ordered Sino-American forces out of Guilin as a way of creating a crisis that would force Chiang to give up command of his armies to Stilwell. Stilwell's diary supports Chennault's claim as Stilwell wrote that if a crisis emerged that was "just sufficient to get rid of the Peanut without entirely wrecking the