Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

John Macnair Wright (14 April 1916 – 27 January 2014) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Military career

On graduating from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

(West Point) in 1940 Lieutenant Wright was assigned to the 91st Coast Artillery on

Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. During World War II he was captured during the

Battle of Corregidor The Battle of Corregidor (; ), fought on 5–6 May 1942, was the culmination of the Empire of Japan, Japanese Philippines campaign (1941–1942), campaign for the conquest of the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. The Bat ...

and spent 3.5 years as a Japanese prisoner of war. He survived the sinking of the

Ōryoku Maru was a Japanese passenger cargo ship which was commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II as a Troopship, troop transport and prisoner of war (POW) transport ship. Japanese POW transport ships are often referred to as hell sh ...

and was freed from captivity in September 1945. He later wrote about his experiences in his book ''Captured on Corregidor: Diary of an American P.O.W. in World War II''. During the Korean War Lieutenant Colonel Wright served in the 7th Infantry Division. He was promoted to Brigadier general and served as Assistant Division Commander of the

11th Air Assault Division (Test) The 11th Airborne Division ("Arctic Angels") is a United States Army multirole infantry division made up of specialized light infantry and airborne infantry based in Alaska. Currently, this unit specializes in arctic warfare, airborne operat ...

, which was renamed the

1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) 1st Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Regiment or 1st Cavalry Battalion may refer to: Armies * 1st Cavalry Army, Soviet Union Corps * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée) * I Cavalry Corps (German Empire) * 1st Cavalry ...

and deployed to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. Arriving in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

on 2 August 1965 Wright led the advance party to establish the division in Vietnam. From July 1967 to May 1969 he served as commander of

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

. Wright served as commander of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

from May 1969 to May 1970. Assuming command of the division at the end of the

Battle of Hamburger Hill The Battle of Hamburger Hill (13–20 May 1969) was fought by US Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces against People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces during Operation Apache Snow of the Vietnam War. Though the heavily-fortifi ...

, Wright created controversy by abandoning the hill on 5 June. Following his return from Vietnam he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Comptroller of the Army, his last active duty assignment before retiring in 1972. General Wright was an hereditary companion of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, John M. United States Army generals 1916 births 2014 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War World War II prisoners of war held by Japan United States Military Academy alumni