|
|
| |
| |
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient General Jonathan M. Wainwright IV
Born: Walla Walla, Washington - August 23, 1883
Died: San Antonio, Texas - September 3, 1953
Commanding General, United States Forces in the Philippines
Congressional Medal of Honor Presented to General Wainwright
By President Harry S. Truman in the Whitehouse Rose Garden
Major General Jonathan M. (Skinny) Wainwright at the microphone of radio station KZRH in Manila, ordering that US and Filipino troops in all the Philippine Islands lay down their arms and surrender to the nearest Japanese garrison. Note the Japanese interpreter listening to Wainwright's right.
Upon his release from a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp after over three years in captivity, and at the request of General of Army Douglas MacArthur; Lieutenant General Jonathan M. Wainwright appeared at the surrender of the Japanese Empire to the Allies on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay . On his way back to the United States, he was promoted to General. A few days after arriving in the United States, General Wainwright was asked to visit the White House by President Truman, and in a ceremony held in the rose garden, General Jonathan M. Wainwright was presented the "Medal of Honor" for his actions while commanding the Northern Luzon Forces, I Corps on Bataan, and all United States Forces in the Philippines. During his time as a Prisoner of War, General Wainwright expected to be court martialed upon his return to the United States, but instead he found a grateful nation who was proud to have him back. Unfortunately, the only thing anyone ever remembers about General Wainwright, is his role in the surrender of the Philippine Islands to the Japanese in 1942. If America had been properly prepared to fight and defend its territory, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the loss of the Philippines might never have happened.
President Harry S. Truman awards the Congressional Medal of Honor to Gen. Jonathan Wainwright.
CITATION:
Rank and organization: General, Commanding U.S. Army Forces in the Philippines. Place & Date: Philippine Islands, 12 March to 7 May 1942. Entered service at: Skaneateles, N.Y. Birth: Walla Walla, Washington. General Order. No.: 80, 19 September 1945. Distinguished himself by intrepid and determined leadership against greatly superior enemy forces. At the repeated risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in his position, he frequented the firing line of his troops where his presence provided the example and incentive that helped make the gallant efforts of these men possible. The final stand on beleaguered Corregidor, for which he was in an important measure personally responsible, commanded the admiration of the Nation's allies. It reflected the high morale of American arms in the face of overwhelming odds. His courage and resolution were a vitally needed inspiration to the then sorely pressed freedom-loving peoples of the world.
Jonathan Wainwright After Prison Release - General Jonathan Wainwright (1883-1953), defender of Batann and Corrigidor during World War II, whose appearance is testimony to the way the Japs treated him while he was their prisoner, is shown here at his first meal at General MacArthur's in Yokohama. Photograph, 1945.
Jonathan Wainwright was born the son of a cavalry officer and a descendant in a line of distinguished U. S. Naval officers on August 23, 1883 at Fort Walla Walla, Washington Territory. His father, Robert, commanded a squadron in the Battle of Santiago during the Spanish American War and died in 1901 while serving in the suppression of the Philippine Insurrection. A year later, Jonathan was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Wainwright received his commission in 1906 and began his career with the 1st Cavalry Regiment in Texas. The 1st was sent to the Philippines in 1908 as part of an expedition sent to quell the Moro uprising on the island of Jolo. Wainwright participated in the St.Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives towards the end of World War I. Following the Armistice, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff with the Army of Occupation in Koblenz, Germany and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his work in that capacity. The years between the wars were spent in postgraduate studies and training commands. He graduated from the Mounted Service School, Fort Riley, Kansas, 1916. Promoted to Captain, and in 1917 was on staff of the first officers training camp at Plattsburg, New York. In February 1918 he was ordered to France. In June he became Assistant Chief-of-Staff of the 82nd Infantry Division, with which he took part in Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. Promoted to temporary Lieutenant Colonel in October he was assigned to occupation duty in Germany with the 3rd Army until 1920, in which year, having reverted to Captain, he was promoted to Major. After a year as an instructor at the renamed Cavalry School at Fort Riley, he was attached to the General Staff during 1921-23 and assigned to the 3rd Cavalry, Fort Myer, Virginia, 1923-25. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1929 and graduated from the Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1931, and the Army War College in 1934. He was promoted to Colonel in 1935, and commanded the 3rd Cavalry until 1938, when he was advanced to Brigadier General in command of the 1st Cavalry Brigade at Fort Clark, Texas. In September 1940, he was promoted to temporary Major General and returned to the Philippines to take command of the Philippine Division. that began in late December 1941. Wainwright had little inkling of what future held. The war in Europe was already raging and he feared "that something might break over here and there he would be stuck in the Philippines missing everything." He was commanding American and Filipino troops in northern Luzon when the Japanese attacked on December 8,
1941. Wainwright commanded from the front and his skillful series of holding actions helped to make the American stand on Bataan possible.
On February 7, 1942 General MacArthur decorated him with the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. MacArthur was ordered to leave for Australia on March 11, 1942. Wainwright succeeded him as commander of all American and Filipino forces on Bataan and was promoted to lieutenant general. As the senior field commander of US and Filipino forces, he had tactical responsibility for resisting the Japanese invasion. Pushed back from beachheads in Lingayen Gulf, his Philippine forces withdrew onto the Bataan Peninsula, where they occupied well prepared defensive positions and commanded the entrance to Manila Bay. In throwing back a major Japanese assault in January, the defenders earned name of "battling bastards of Bataan." When MacArthur was ordered off Bataan in March 1942, Wainwright, promoted to temporary Lieutenant General, succeeded to command of US Army Forces in the Far East, a command immediately afterward reassigned US Forces in the Philippines. The Japanese attacks resumed in earnest in April. The Japanese high command issued an ultimatum on March 22nd urging the defenders of Bataan to surrender in the name of humanity. Continuous air bombardment was followed by two human wave assaults which were repulsed but the defenders were running low on supplies and morale. Bataan fell on April 9, 1942. President Roosevelt authorized Wainwright to continue the fight or make terms as he saw fit. Wainwright chose to continue the battle from Corregidor despite the urgings of some that he leave. "I have been one of the battling bastards of Bataan and Ill play the same role on the rock as long as it is humanly possible. I have been with my men from the start, and if captured I will share their lot. We have been through so much together that my conscience would not let me leave before the final curtain."
Wainwright and 11,000 survivors held on in the tunnels beneath the rock for another month deprived of food, sleep or hope of relief. On May 5th Wainwright wrote MacArthur, "As I write this we are being subjected to terrific air and artillery bombardment and it is unreasonable to expect that we can hold out for long. We have done our best, both here and on Bataan, and although we are beaten we are still unashamed." The Japanese began landing on the island that night and at noon the next day Wainwright called for terms. General Homma insisted that Wainwright surrender all remaining American and Filipino forces or risk the annihilation of his troops on Corregidor. Wainwright complied. MacArthur countermanded the order but was ignored. MacArthur was livid and later refused to sign General Marshalls recommendation of Wainwright for a Medal of Honor. Wainwright spent the next three years in Japanese prison camps in the Philippines, China and Formosa (Taiwan). The man who was known to his friends as Skinny emerged from captivity little more than a skeleton. He was liberated on August 25, 1945 in time to attend the surrender ceremonies aboard USS Missouri (left) in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, after which he returned to the Philippines to receive the surrender of the local Japanese commander. After a short stop at Fort Shafter in Hawaii to receive his fourth star from General Robert C. Richardson Jr., he continued on to a hero's welcome in the US and the awarding of the Medal of Honor. "Memoir, General Wainwright's Story," was published in 1945. In January 1946 he took command of the 4th Army, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He retired from the army in 1947 and died on September 3, 1953.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Articles & Briefings
