Throughout history there have been several five star generals
Eisenhower, Bradley, MacArthur and Marshall from WWII era.
There were also a few Admirals of the Fleet, which is the
equivalent to five star general, and there have been a few Air
Force 5 stars as well. But there has only been one six star general.
Can you guess who he was? I will post the answer
after you have had some time to guess.

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

That would be the father of our country - George Washington.

John

__________________
- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

CONGRATULATIONS PALADIN85020! It only took 3 minutes to come up
with the correct answer.

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

Never knew that. Good topic.

...In 1976, as part of commemorations for the U.S. Bicentennial, General George Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States. Although the law did not actually specify the number of stars, some U.S. newspapers and members of Congress described this as a six-star rank. His appointment had been to serve as "General and Commander in Chief of the Army of the United Colonies"...

Six-star rank in US armed forces - Wikipedia

On July 4, 1976, the nation’s bicentennial, George Washington was posthumously promoted to General of the Armies of the United States.


During the revolution he was actually a 2 star.

I have had the dubious honor of being chewed out by a Marine 2 star. Eventually my appearance was not to his standards. Usually some staff NCO, an officer of any rank has in tow, will do the honors. But, this one saw fit to do the job himself and quite well I might add.

Even old lions need to roar once in a while.

__________________
protocalldesign.com

I’ve told the tale about being on the same plane with Gen. Bradley from El Paso to San Antonio.
He and one aide were up in First Class. The other Aide was in the rear, and they switched during the flight.
Have regretted I didn’t ID myself to the guy in back and ask if the General was ok meeting an AF Guy.
It’s on my list of regrets and that’s a short list!

__________________
NRA LIFE MEMBER

As a lowly E5, I had the opportunity to not only yell at a Major General, but get away with it.

I was working an off-duty 2nd job at the Post wood working shop. The post commander was about to induce a kickback on a table saw with the blade guard removed. I did have the presence of mind to add "sir" to the loud and attention getting command that I shouted at him from across the shop.

Sad thing, an E6 ended up doing the same thing, and losing 4 fingers, on the same saw a few months later. It ended his military career.

__________________
Only a cold warrior

Made the mistake of getting a 2 star I know to solve a problem for my unit. The Col. never forgot..........

2 start was really good about it though, and I can laugh about it now....

__________________
Who watches the watchers?

I actually got quite good at being chewed out by officers during my career as a Marine Corps **** bird. One full bird did give that general a run for his money in the but chewing category. The best one though was a Gunnery Sgt. I was checking out for separations and my section Gunnery Sgt really like me and although far from squared away I had always done excellent work for her and she had got me a meritorious promotion toe Corporal. Anyway she gave me top proficiency and conduct marks. When I got to the company gunny and he saw them he exploded, failing to believe that what he saw in front of him was the "perfect Marine". LMAO He even called her to no avail. She was also "dating" our commands Master Gunnery Sgt, who I s0ometimes gave a ride to work to as he had lost his drivers license. Ya, got have some God Fathers to get by.

Reading up on the background of the posthumous appointment produces some interesting information.

It appears President Ford was bothered by the idea that anyone could ever outrank George Washington, after Pershing and the shenanigans regarding MacArthur covered in the Wiki article.

That was the motivation behind the law which led to the promotion, with no mention of stars.

“Whereas it is considered fitting and proper that no officer of the United States Army should outrank Lieutenant General George Washington on the Army list: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That… The President is authorized and requested to appoint George Washington posthumously to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States, such appointment to take effect on July 4, 1976.”

It was considered unnecessary by some. One member of the House said “it’s like the Pope offering to make Christ a Cardinal.”

As a trainee cannon cocker at Ft Sill, on one firing exercise I was the guy catching the hot brass from a 105 after each round was fired and pitching it to the rear. Along about the fourth round I caught the brass, spun around and almost gutted a brigadier general who had come to observe entirely too close behind me. I I froze just in time with the shell about an inch from his crotch. After a couple of seconds that lasted a lifetime, he had the grace to apologize for being in the wrong place. My only close encounter with a general, and quite sufficient.

__________________
de minimus non curat lex

I was never in the proximity of a general of any number of stars, but
in 1955 I was on duty at Arlington Hall Station for the National Security
Agency and had the honor of saluting a young Air Force bird colonel.
He had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
If I recall corectly, I think his CMOH came as a result of duty
in the Army during the Korean War.

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

John J. Pershing was the first to be given the rank of General of the Armies of the United States-he received it in 1919. He wore 4 gold stars. No other insignia was adopted. George Dewey was promoted to the unique rank of Admiral of the Navy.
Washington was a Lieutenant General from the beginning, until the rank was formally revived for Grant in 1864 only Winfield Scott held it, and only by brevet.

I get around...

John

__________________
- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

My cousin was a 3 star, when he got out of college, the Celtics wanted him for basketball and the White Sox wanted him for baseball, he told his father he was going to join the Army and think about sports when he gets out. Both his mother and father were WW1 vet's in the Navy.

John B Blount – Military Science and Leadership (Army ROTC)

Sent from my LGL455DL using Tapatalk

__________________
Don

Recently I got a Facebook Friend request from retired 4 Star Richard ‘Dickie’ Myers.
Didn’t know he’s now the President of Kansas State.
Yes I accepted!

__________________
NRA LIFE MEMBER

Off topic, but it always strikes me odd when I see pictures of police chiefs with 4 stars on their collars. 'Probably a 5 or 6 star police chief somewhere ...

So, Washington wasn’t a six star general . . .

__________________
Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Wow! Would that make a great million dollar question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? or what?

__________________
Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

John J. Pershing was the first (and only during his lifetime) to be promoted to the Rank of General of the Armies of the United States. He was allowed to choose his own "badge of rank." He chose to wear four gold stars. All other full generals wear silver stars. When the "five star" officers were authorized during WWII, the law that created the promotions specified that Pershing would be senior to those promoted to General of the Army/Fleet Admiral and later General of the Air Force.

George Washington was promoted to General of the Armies of the United States posthumously during the bicentennial of the US. While both Washington and Pershing held this rank, it was decided that Washington would have precedence over Pershing.

MacArthur was considered for the rank during his lifetime and after his death, but no action was taken.

__________________
Bill

WCCPHD has the correct answer, though I believe no army officer has ever outranked George Washington in permanent grade. I could be wrong. Maybe others know more about that.

There are! Mostly small towns but a few good size cities as well. I've run into two or three while applying for LEO positions back in the day.

However, security guard companies are NOTORIOUS for this kind of thing. I remember one multiple officer operation where the site supervisor was a five star general....shift supervisors were full bird Colonels....console operatiors Captains....patrol officers Lieutenants and gate officers Sergeants (SFC Army insignia).

The "General" made a whopping $7/hr back then so that gives you a guess at the rest.

I still have a good laugh at that.

(BTW both the facility they were all at and the company involved are LONG gone)

__________________
The Last Standing Knight

Washington and Pershing at different times. I did see a DoD rank chart that listed the rank as being "prescribed by the incumbent". Generally, both Washington and Pershing would be considered six stars.

I doubt that the five star rank will ever be used again...even in time of war. Even the British did away with the rank of Field Marshal in favor of a four star General rank. The only reason it was created is so that we could be on a par with European Field Marshals like Montgomery, Zhukov, DeGaulle, etc.

Like our Navy Commodore rank, still on the books but more a billet than a rank at this point.

__________________
The Last Standing Knight

The "five star" rank was created, as you said, to give Eisenhower and MacArthur rank equal to British Field Marshals. The US Congress considered creating a US Field Marshal rank, however, as George C. Marshall was Army Chief of Staff (and first Army five star officer promoted, Admiral Leahy was promoted one day earlier) it was decided not to have Marshal Marshall, so the equivalent rank of Field Marshal in Europe was named General of the Army and Fleet Admiral.

__________________
Bill

Another trivia question in a similar vein:

Which five star officers held that rank twice?

__________________
Bill

Odd is not the word. Maybe ridiculous?

At the height of his fame George Patton, Jr., was authorized by Congress to wear four stars. If memory serves me well, he commanded four corps and roughly 500,000 men. Today, I wonder what kind of command a full general has - and how many of them are on the payroll? Would be interesting to know.

In any case, the Act of Congress honoring George Washington may be the only noteworthy thing they’ve done in my lifetime.

Henry Arnold was promoted to 5 star rank as head of the USAAC, when the Air Force was established he became the first-and only-General of the Air Force.
A number of top generals-Alexander Patch, Leslie J.McNair in WWII, Walton Walker in Korea-only received their fourth star posthumously.

I spend my time in data processing and even in the first part of the 70s, officers liked their Data. Plus, data processing was was top heavy. A Captain ran the company I was attached to but, a colonel ran the computer shop, gunnery Sgt and above were all over.

I was accosted by the general in the lobby of the Marine supply depot processing center at 8th and Broad in Philly.

Glenn the dog after his promotion, wearing the 4 stars of Air Force General McNabb. The General awarded K9 Glenn the stars off his flight suit, after the dog took the General down to the ground and controlled him during a training demonstration.

One should not get too hung up on any absolute “value” of the stars and number of stars. As the above-quoted sources show, the original law and regulations about the rank said nothing about stars; that was up to the individual, or just made up by the press.

In civilian life, four stars for a police chief make perfect sense if the department is large enough that there are officers with descending ranks below it (assistent chiefs, captains, lieutenants). The number four, in stars or stripes, is fairly common for the top spot in a variety of areas, be it the master/captain in the merchant navy, or an airline captain.

German police have so many pay grades, in one state you start with one blue star going up to five blue stars, then get one silver star up to five, then one gold star up to five, then one gold star with oak leaves .... you get the idea

In the Navy and only in the Navy three people wear stars on their collar:
Senior Chiefs, Master Chiefs and Admirals. A Master Chief once reminded me they are heavier than they look.

Pershing was granted General of the Armies, an equivalent six star, but chose to wear 4 gold stars vs 6 silver. Note that neither Pershing nor Washington were actual six stars as the rank was never actually adopted. It was presumed for general of the army as higher than other officers.

So, if we're gonna do that, then we gotta talk about horns . . .

__________________
Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I'm kinda partial to the rank of Lord Commander

__________________
Forum consigliere

What has always impressed me about Washington wasn't the number of stars he wore or the titles he carried...but the kind of man he was.

George Washington had all the qualities we need both in our military and national leaders...including humility and faith. "The Prayer at Valley Forge", by artist Arnold Friberg, remains my favorite depiction of him, and hangs over my fireplace at home...

Attached Images

The Prayer at Valley Forge.jpg (119.3 KB, 34 views)

But we shouldn't get carried away with the gold-plating. I prefer national heroes to be human and struggling, with warts and all. Makes their contributions much more inspiring.

Washington didn't want to be president, and didn't do particularly well in the job, the Whiskey Rebellion being a highlight. He got caught between the emerging national parties, and two of his cabinet member, Jefferson and Hamilton, were the main faces.

His reputation among contemporaries suffered mightily. Some quotes based on a recent biography:

John Adams in 1785: “I glory in the character of Washington because I know him to be an exemplification of the American character.”

John Adams in 1812: “Too illiterate, unlearned, unread for his station and reputation.”

And here’s Thomas Paine in a letter to Washington in 1779: “I shall never suffer a hint of dishonor or even a deficiency of respect to you to pass unnoticed.”

And in 1796: “The world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any.”

The same can be said of Abraham Lincoln; in fall of 1864, when the possibility looked very real that he might be defeated by McClellan in the election, I'm sure neither Abe nor anyone else could have imagined a King Kong-sized statue of him overlooking Washington from a marble temple in the next century.

I like to be called “El Conquistador . . . “

__________________
Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Excellent points from you, as always.

Many leaders are viewed quite differently at different points in their public lives. I'm watching the Blu-Ray release of Patton right now, who is a great example of someone who was beloved one minute and reviled the next. Churchill rode a similar roller-coaster.

"The Prayer at Valley Forge" simply depicts Washington in a moment of humility...the general leading his country to independence, yet kneeling in prayer to a higher power. I love what that says about him! During the Revolution, he was the right man at the right time.

On a lighter note, not too many people know that after finishing his second term as president, George Washington retired to Mount Vernon and became one of America‘s largest whiskey distillers.

The distillery was rebuilt as a historical but operational replica in the early 2000s.

You can buy the unaged rye for $98 per 375ml bottle, unfortunately only in person at Mt. Vernon or shipped in VA and DC due to today’s laws, and since I’m on the wrong coast I may never taste it. Otherwise, I might just be crazy enough to spend the bucks for the “historic experience”

I had a friend that was known as the Air VICE Marshal.

Air Vice Marshal is an RAF rank, equivalent to two stars for us.
Bradley received his 5th star as Army Chief of Staff so MacArthur wouldn't outrank him.
Admiral of the Fleet is the Royal Navy's equivalent of Field Marshal.
The idea was to recognize our senior officers and give them rank parity with Allied officers. Montgomery was promoted to Field Marshall in September, 1944, Stalin was fairly generous in promoting succesful commanders to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

They can keep their stars...I'm happy with my Chiclets

__________________
Chief

Back around 1971, when I was a senior in high school, I was in the exchange at 8th and I (Headquarter Marine Corps). I looked over saw a Lieutenant General (three star). At that point in time, I believe the Marine Corps only had 2 Lt Generals and one four star-the Commandant.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Some small size City Police Chiefs here in SE VA are satisfied with a full bird insignia with the subordinate wearing a Lt. Col. or Major insignia. If ones ego requires stars, so be it, but competence knows no insignia.

When the authorization for the 5 star ranks was debated, it was proposed the Navy have the rank of Captain Admiral.
The story was that the Army rejected the rank of Field Marshal because George C. Marshall didn't want to be known as "Marshal Marshall".

Quite a few years ago, I purchased this relic from the estate of 5-star General of the Army Omar Bradley. It is an Army field phonograph. Bradley had owned it since he was a Major and instructor at Fort Benning during the early 1930s. He used it to play Reveille and Taps over the loudspeaker system to wake his troops up in the morning and put them in their bunks in the evening.

This picture is from a televised antiques show in Phoenix where it was evaluated by experts for value not too long ago.

Although I never met Bradley, I did attend his funeral services in El Paso, where he maintained his active duty status and residence at Fort Bliss until he died.

John

__________________
- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

While I previously wrote here that I doubt we'll ever have a five star general again. On thinking about it, it might be cause to ressureect the rank for one purpose, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...the highest ranking military officer. He/she out ranks everyone else in the armed forces except the secretaries and the POTUS.

__________________
The Last Standing Knight

Of course he can also be an admiral.

I think the command structure will just have to live with the fact that in armed forces as complex as ours, functions can supersede ranks. Chairman is a function to which an officer is appointed, which derives authority from that, not the rank of the officer who holds that function.

The Chairman is actually not in the formal chain of command. He advises the president and presides over the chiefs, but has no operational command authority.