Joseph Stilwell General Joseph W. Stilwell Award. A reference to Stilwell was made in the 1995 film "Outbreak." During a discussion between Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland, Sutherland makes the remark that, "FDR stopped Stilwell from going into Indochina, he caused the Vietnam War." Stilwell's nickname was 'Vinegar Joe' which was the name used by a British Blues Band formed in 1971 with members Robert Palmer and Elkie Brooks providing the vocals. Their third album was called "Six Star General" after Stilwell and has his name printed across the back cover. Streets in Marina, California, Kendall Park, New Jersey and the Presidio
Joseph Stilwell and a subordinate – stung by Joe's caustic remarks – drew a caricature of Stilwell rising out of a vinegar bottle. After discovering the caricature, Stilwell pinned it to a board and had the drawing photographed and distributed to friends. Yet another indication of his view of life was the motto he kept on his desk: "Illegitimi non carborundum", a form of fractured Latin that translates as "Don't let the bastards grind you down." Between the wars, Stilwell served three tours in China, where he mastered spoken and written Chinese, and was the military attaché at the U.S. Legation in