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 proposals to incorporate Chinese and US forces in the 11th Army Group (which was under British command). Barbara W. Tuchman records that Stilwell was a lifelong Republican: "...he retained the family Republicanism and joined naturally in the exhilarating exercise of Roosevelt-hating" and later (at the time of his meeting with Roosevelt) "At home Stilwell was a conventional Republican who shared the sentiments and adopted the tone of the Roosevelt-haters, in which he was influenced by his brother John, an extremist of the species.". Elsewhere she notes that, in the view of an (unnamed) close friend, "Stilwell was liberal and sympathetic