Hanford MacNider Hanford “ Jack ” MacNider ( October 2 , 1889 – February 18 , 1968 ) was a United States diplomat and highly decorated United States Army General , serving in both World War I and World War II . He was a Scottish Rite Freemason . Today MacNider is considered one of Iowa ' s greatest war heroes , the 158th Inf . Regiment ' s spiritual father , and an effective politician . Early life . Hanford MacNider was born in Mason City , Iowa as the son of Charles H . MacNider , a prominent banker , and May Hanford . He attended Milton Academy ( a boarding school in Massachusetts ) and subsequently Harvard University , where he graduated in 1911 before returning to Iowa . MacNider joined the United States National Guard and served during the Pancho Villa Expedition during the Mexican Revolution . During World War I , he served as a Captain in the 2nd Infantry Division within American Expeditionary Force in France . The story goes that military charges were laid against MacNider when one of his men disagreed with a Colonel . MacNider then supposedly went AWOL to get to the front . When authorities finally caught up to him , he had already risen through the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel and won 14 medals , so charges were dropped . For extraordinary heroism in the battle , MacNider was decorated with two Distinguished Service Crosses , three Silver Star s , Italian War Merit Cross , French Légion d ' honneur and French Croix de Guerre with Palm . Interwar Era . He participated in founding of the American Legion , and was commander of the Legion for the State of Iowa from 1920 to 1921 , before being elevated to national commander . President Calvin Coolidge appointed him Assistant Secretary of War in 1925 where Major Dwight Eisenhower was his executive assistant . MacNider married Margaret McAuley in 1925 . He was considered a possible Republican candidate in the United States presidential election , 1928 , but after the death of his father , MacNider returned to Iowa to handle the family ' s business affairs which thrived despite the Depression . President Herbert Hoover appointed him United States ambassador to Canada in 1930 . In 1932 , he resigned in an unsuccessful attempt to be made the Republican candidate for . In 1940 , he again failed receive the Republican nomination for President and declined the Vice Presidential candidacy under Wendell Lewis Willkie . He also turned down a cabinet position offered by President Dwight Eisenhower . Second World War . MacNider was eventually promoted to Brigadier General in the United States Army , and then Major General until his retirement in 1951 . ( After retirement , he was promoted to Lieutenant General . ) During World War II , he was wounded while commanding the Buna Task Force in New Guinea . After recovery , he was given the command of the 158th Regimental Combat Team ( the Bushmasters ) at the Bicol Peninsula . His command of the 158th RCT in the Philippines was excellent and it was there that some of the toughest fighting of the war occurred . A Regimental legend contends that at one point men of the 3rd battalion became drunk from a cache of Japanese Saki , at which point MacNider finding the men in poor conditions downed a whole bottle in a single moment and decried the troops for being poor soldiers . MacNider earned the respect and love of the men of the 158th by his courage and great battlefield leadership , this has led to an almost mythical reputation in the regiment even today . On February 18 , 1968 , while on vacation in Sarasota , Florida , he died at a hospital of pulmonary edema . It has been said that he was interred in Mason City ' s Elmwood Saint Joseph Cemetery , the cemetery office has no record of him , it is believed that he was cremated and his ashes scattered in an unknown location . Decorations . Hanford MacNider received during his military career a many decorations and awards for heroism and distinguished service . Here are official citations of the most important military decorations : First Distinguished Service Cross Citation . The official U . S . Army citation for his first Distinguished Service Cross reads : Second Distinguished Service Cross Citation . The official U . S . Army citation for his second Distinguished Service Cross reads : Third Distinguished Service Cross Citation . The official U . S . Army citation for his third Distinguished Service Cross reads : Distinguished Service Medal Citation . The official U . S . Army citation for his Distinguished Service Medal reads : Ribbon bar . Here is the ribbon bar of Lieutenant General ( Ret . ) Hanford MacNider :