The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-09-11
Action-LoDing General WainUright Feared He Might Miss The Wnr" Ln Philippines
By DOUGLAS LARSEN NEA Staff C0rreSnNndent

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 Washington, Sept. 1l-When four-star Gen Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright-then a Major Gen. eral-was sent to the Philippines in September, l940, he expressed mild irritation. He told his friends he was going to miss the war.
 His fear of missing action in World War II was unfounded. In the few historic months during which he held the Jap savages at bay he earned a reputation as the most "front-flghting' general in the Army. With his brilliant record in the Army and his fighting heritage, this was expected.
 He is the son of the late Major Robert Powell Page Wainwright, who gave his life in the Philip pines in 1901 during an uprising. His grandfather was Commander Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, killed in action in the Civil War. His great grandfather had the same name and was Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New York |,
 To an intimate few of his lTlcIluS WIlO WCLlJ VLlLOlBA WCob Point with him. Wainwright was known as Skinny" He was de- scribed as tall, lean, and wiry; a typical cavalry officer"
 FORESAW REGENERATION
 Riding horses was his favorite sport. Wherever he was stationed he quickly established himself as the best polo player He is also an excellent shot with rifle and pistol.
 When he got out of the Academy in 1906, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the cavalry. He stayed with 1t off and on until World War I. In 1918 he had risen to the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel. having served with the General Staff of the 82nd Division in the St. Mihiel and Meuse- Argonne offensives, and with the Third Army in the occupation of the Rhine.
 In 1881 he decided a new kind of warfare was developing. He knew motorized divisions were coming to take the place of horses, but hated to see it. He told friend:
 All these years I've been get- ting bow-legged to fit horse. I don't know how I'm going to fit a tank"
 In that year he was graduated from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. In 1884 he completed the course at the War College in Washington, and then went through the Chemical Warfare School at Edgewood Arsenal, Md. He always maintained a brilliant scholastic record.
 Tough as promotions were in peacetime, he made full colonel in 1886 and brigadier general in 1888
 The usually international War Department records go all-out in giving him this description: Nat ural leader, magnetic personality, clipped speech, good disciplinaria1, popular with officers and men, altert forceful and has plenty of confidence in himself"
 ILD-TEMPERED
 No less enthusiastic, his friends describe him as very pleasant hammered, mild-tempered man with good sense of humor. They say he is easy-going at the right time and a tough diSciplinarian at the right time.
 His most historic pronounc was made when the Japs sent their first bid for his surrender when he was trapped on Corregidor. He re- piled:
 T have been one of the bat. ting soldiers of Bataan and I'll play the same role on the Rock as long as 1t 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 con- science would not let me leave be- fore the final curtain"