Major General Charles Evans Kilbourne Jr. (December 23, 1872 – November 12, 1963) was the first American to earn the United States' three highest military decorations.

After World War I, he served as the superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, succeeding General John A. Lejeune, and had a post-military career as a distinguished writer.

[citation needed] He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, May 20, 1898 in the Signal Corps and eventually reached the rank of major general, July 9, 1935.

[3] Kilbourne served in the Philippine–American War as a second lieutenant in the campaign which captured Manila and included operations in Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan Provinces.

He served in the Boxer Rebellion in China and the relief of the Allied legations in Peking and in operations in South Sulu.

In later Philippine duty in the late 1920s, Kilbourne initiated the elaborate tunnel system of Corregidor (Malinta Tunnel) which served American troops during the early stages of World War II and enabled Douglas MacArthur's troops to resist as long as they did in the face of the overwhelming odds in favor of the Japanese.

He arrived in France on January 1, 1918, for service in World War I where he served on both the British and French fronts for a short period and then returned to Washington in March.

He was the head of the U.S. Mission inspecting the coastal defenses of Europe and Turkey and returned to the U.S. in May 1919 to serve on the faculty of the Army War College from, 1920–1924.

During his career in the Army, Kilbourne received numerous awards including the following: Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Volunteer Signal Corps.