Jonathan M . Wainwright ( general ) Jonathan Mayhew " Skinny " Wainwright IV ( August 23 , 1883 – September 2 , 1953 ) was a career American army officer and the commander of Allied forces in the Philippines at the time of their surrender to the Empire of Japan during World War II . Wainwright is a recipient of the Medal of Honor . Early life and training . Wainwright was born at Fort Walla Walla , an army post now in Walla Walla , Washington , and was the son of Robert Powell Page Wainwright , a U . S . Army officer who had served as a 2nd Lt in the US 1st Cavalry in 1875 , commanded a squadron at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish - American War , and in 1902 was killed in action in the Philippines . His grandfather was Lieutenant Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II , USN who was killed in action during the Civil War . He graduated from Highland Park High School in 1901 and from West Point , in 1906 . He served as First Captain of the Corps of Cadets . Wainwright was commissioned in the cavalry . He served with the U . S . 1st Cavalry Regiment in Texas from 1906 – 08 and in the Philippines from 1908 – 10 , where he saw combat on Jolo , during the Moro Rebellion . Wainwright graduated from the Mounted Service School , Fort Riley , Kansas , in 1916 and was promoted to Captain . By 1917 he was on the staff of the first officer training camp at Plattsburgh , New York . World War I . In February 1918 , he was ordered to France , during World War I . In June , he became Assistant Chief - of - Staff of the U . S . 82nd Infantry Division , with which he took part in the Saint Mihiel and Meuse - Argonne Offensive s . As a temporary Lieutenant Colonel , he was assigned to occupation duty in Germany with the 3rd Army at Koblenz , Germany , from October 1918 until 1920 . Having reverted to the rank of Captain , he was then promoted to Major . Inter - War period . After a year as an instructor at the Cavalry School at Fort Riley , he was attached to the General Staff from 1921 – 23 and assigned to the U . S . 3rd Cavalry Regiment , Fort Myer , Virginia , from 1923 – 25 . In 1929 , he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and graduated from the Command and General Staff School , Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , in 1931 , and from the Army War College in 1934 . Wainwright was promoted to Colonel in 1935 , and served as commander of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment until 1938 , when he was promoted to Brigadier General in command of the 1st Cavalry Brigade at Fort Clark , Texas . World War II . In September 1940 , Wainwright was promoted to Major General ( temporary ) and returned to the Philippines , in December , as commander of the Philippine Department . As the senior field commander of Filipino and US forces — under General Douglas MacArthur — Wainwright was responsible for resisting the Japanese invasion of the Philippines , which began in December 1941 . Retreating from the Japanese beachhead of Lingayen Gulf , Allied forces had withdrawn onto the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor by January 1942 , where they defended the entrance to Manila Bay . Following the relocation of MacArthur to Australia in March , to serve as Allied Supreme Commander , South West Pacific Area , Wainwright inherited the unenviable position of Allied commander in the Philippines . Also that March , Wainwright was promoted to Lieutenant General ( temporarily ) . On April 9 , the 70 , 000 troops on Bataan surrendered under the command of Major General Edward P . King . On May 5 , the Japanese attacked Corregidor and on May 6 , in the interest of minimizing casualties , Wainwright surrendered . By June 9 , Allied forces had completely surrendered . Wainwright was then held in prison camps in northern Luzon , Formosa , and Liaoyuan ( then called Xi ' an and was a county within Manchukuo ) until his liberation by the Red Army in August 1945 . He was the highest - ranking American POW , and despite his rank , his treatment at the hands of the Japanese was not pleasant . After witnessing the Japanese surrender aboard the on September 2 , together with Lieutenant - General Arthur Percival , he returned to the Philippines to receive the surrender of the local Japanese commander , Lieutenant - General Tomoyuki Yamashita . Dubbed by his men a " fighting " general who was willing to get down in the foxholes , Wainwright won the respect of all who were imprisoned with him . He agonized over his decision to surrender Corregidor throughout his captivity , feeling that he had let his country down . Upon release , the first question he asked was how people back in the U . S . thought of him , and he was amazed when told he was considered a hero . He later received the Medal of Honor , an honor which had first been proposed early in his captivity , in 1942 , but was rejected due to the vehement opposition of General MacArthur , who felt that Corregidor should not have been surrendered . Macarthur did not oppose the renewed proposal in 1945 . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and Organization : General , Commanding U . S . Army Forces in the Philippines . Place and date : Philippine Islands , 12 March to 7 May 1942 . Entered Service at : Skaneateles , N . Y . Birth : Walla Walla , Wash . G . O . No . : 80 , 19 September 1945 . Citation : 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 . Post - War years and retirement . On September 5 , 1945 , shortly after the Japanese surrender , Wainwright received his fourth star . On September 13 , a ticker - tape parade in New York City was held in his honor . Upon returning to the United States , he was assigned as commander of Second Service Command and the Eastern Defense Command at Fort Jay , Governors Island , New York . In January 1946 , he became the commander of the Fourth Army at Fort Sam Houston , Texas where he retired in August 1947 . He became a Freemason in May 1946 at Union Lodge No . 7 . in Junction City Kansas and a Shriner soon after . Wainwright was also a Hereditary Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States by right of his grandfather ' s service in the Union Navy during the Civil War . Wainwright served on the board of directors for several corporations after his retirement . He made himself available to speak before veterans ' groups and filled almost every request to do so . He never felt any bitterness toward MacArthur for his actions in the Philippines or MacArthur ' s attempt to deny him the Medal of Honor . In fact , when it appeared that MacArthur might be nominated for president at the 1948 Republican National Convention , Wainwright stood ready to make the nominating speech . He died of a stroke at San Antonio , Texas on September 2 , 1953 . Wainwright was buried in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery with a Masonic service and is one of the few people to have had their funeral held in the lower level of the Memorial Amphitheater . He is buried next to his wife and near his parents .