John E . Dahlquist John Ernest Dahlquist ( March 12 , 1896 — July 30 , 1975 ) was a United States Army general and World War II division commander . In the course of his career , he commanded three different army divisions , commanded at the corps and field army level , and rose to the rank of four - star general . Biography . Dahlquist was born on March 12 , 1896 in Minneapolis , Minnesota . His parents were immigrants from Dalsland , Sweden . He graduated from the University of Minnesota and served in the occupation forces in Germany after World War I . He received a direct commission in 1917 . He served as an instructor at the U . S . Army Infantry School from 1924 to 1928 . After graduating from Command and General Staff School in 1931 , he was assigned to the Philippines . From 1935 to 1936 he was a student at the Army War College , serving on the Army General Staff , Personnel Division after graduation . World War II . With America ' s entry into World War II , Dahlquist was assigned as Assistant Chief of Staff , European Theater of Operations in 1942 , and later that year became Assistant Division Commander of the 76th Infantry Division . In 1943 he became the first commander of the 70th Infantry Division , and the next year he took command of the 36th Infantry Division . It was for his command of the 36th Division that Dahlquist received his greatest criticism for his over - utilization of the Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team . Arguably , his decisions would result in the 442nd becoming the most highly decorated unit in the history of the United States military . And in fact it was not the Nisei soldiers who manned the 442nd , but the officers , none of them Japanese American , who led the 442nd , that are often quoted in criticism of General Dahlquist . On 24 October 1944 , 1st and 2nd Battalion , 141st Infantry moved to secure the right flank of the 3rd Division , near the French town of St - Die . When the German forces counterattacked , 1st Battalion was separated and cut off . After two days of attempted rescue by 2nd and 3rd Battalion , 141st Infantry , Dahlquist resorted to send in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team , which had born the brunt of the Division ' s fighting for the previous eight days . The 442nd would suffer 800 casualties , including 121 dead during the five days it took to rescue 211 men of the 1st Battalion , 141st Infantry . On 8 May 1945 , Hermann Göring surrendered to the 36th Infantry assistant division commander after a ceasefire was declared between the German Army Group G and the U . S . 7th Army . The assistant division commander , Brigadier General Stack , transported Göring to the division command post . Because he also spoke German , Dahlquist dismissed his translator , and so it was Dahlquist who became the first person to question Göring . Press photos of Dahlquist and Stack , in seemingly casual conversation with Göring , were released for publication back in the United States and resulted in criticism of Dahlquist from the American public . Following the war , Dahlquist returned to the United States , serving in various administrative and personnel jobs . He took command of his third division , the 1st Infantry Division in 1949 . This was followed by command of V Corps ( 1952 – 1953 ) and Fourth United States Army ( 1953 ) . He then served as Chief of Army Field Forces from 1953 to 1955 , during which he was promoted to 4 star rank on August 18 , 1954 . He finished his career as Commander - in - Chief , Continental Army Command , retiring in 1956 . He died on June 30 , 1975 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Marriage . Dahlquist was married to Ruth D . Dahlquist , who coincidentally was born 17 days after him , and died 17 days after him . She was buried next to him in Arlington . They had a son called Donald John , born on December 24 , 1923 and died on July 27 , 2006 , buried on Leavenworth National Cemetery , Kansas . Also General Dahlquist has several grandchildren who live even today . One of them lives in Germany . Awards and decorations . Dahlquist ' s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross , the Army Distinguished Service Medal , the Silver Star , the Legion of Merit , and the Bronze Star . In 1954 he received an honorary Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota .