Stilwell served as a lieutenant with the 15th Infantry Regiment (United States) in China in 1937. During a troop movement from Qinhuangdao to Tianjin on July 29, 1937, Stilwell's unit came into contact with a battle between Chinese and Japanese forces. Major William F. Lee, First Lieutenant Stilwell and four of their men each received the Soldier's Medal for protecting the unit and its equipment from injury and damage.[2]
Stilwell served as commander of United States Army Support Group, Vietnam (renamed United States Army Support Command, Vietnam from March 1, 1964) from August 26, 1962, until June 30, 1964.[4]
Death
Stilwell was lost at sea on July 25, 1966, when flying a C-47 to Hawaii with longtime friend and pilot Hal Grimes of Air Ferry International. Harold Fossum was the navigator. The C-47 was to continue on to Thailand; however, Stilwell was only intending to travel as far as Hawaii to increase his instrument rating qualification. The Coast Guard, USAF and US Navy (including three destroyers and the USS Yorktown) searched an area of 105,000 square miles (270,000 km2) without finding any trace of the aircraft.[5] A memorial to Brig. Gen. Stilwell was erected at the West Point Cemetery next to the gravesite of his parents.[6]
^ ab"Class of 1933—Register of Graduates". Register of Graduates and Former Cadets 1802–1971 of the United States Military Academy. The West Point Alumni Foundation Inc. 1971. p. 432. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
^Eckhardt, George (1974). Vietnam Studies Command and Control 1950–1969. Department of the Army. pp. 36–37. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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