Joseph Stilwell the parents of five children, including Brigadier General Joseph, Jr., (West Point 1933) served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Stilwell later taught at West Point, and attended the Infantry Advanced Course and the Command and General Staff College. During World War I, he was the U.S. Fourth Corps intelligence officer and helped plan the St. Mihiel offensive. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his service in France. Stilwell is often remembered by his sobriquet, "Vinegar Joe", which he acquired while a commander at Fort Benning, Georgia. Stilwell often gave harsh critiques of performance in field exercises,
Joseph Stilwell claimed Guilin was a lost cause. In his diary, Stillwell wrote: "What they ought to do is to shoot the G-mo [Chiang] and Ho [General He Yingqin] and the rest of the gang". Stillwell ordered the American troops to pull out of Guilin, and was able to persuade Chiang to reluctantly accept the loss of Guilin. The clash over Guilin was only a prelude to another clash, where Chiang demanded the return of the Y Force from Burma to defend Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, which was also threatened by the Japanese advance. After meeting Chiang, Stilwell wrote in