Joseph Stilwell

Vinegar Joe, as he was called, famously lacked tact and a capacity for conventional diplomacy. In spite of this, he convinced Chiang Kai-shek to cede command of his armies to the American military. Like many other Americans involved in Chinese affairs, Stillwell's posthumous reputation suffered with the rise to power of the Communist Party in China.

He was the subject of an excellent biography by Barbara W. Tuchman.