morganbj -> RE: The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King--The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea any re (6/25/2012 3:26:03 PM)
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ORIGINAL: geofflambert Have not read. Washington and Pershing posthumously received six stars. Did everyone know that? Pershing's promotionb was in 1919, immediately after WWI. Washington's was in 1976, so that no general could ever outrank him. There was no 6 star or 5 star rank in WWI. Pershing was made General of the Armies, as opposed to a General of the Army (singular), so some have imagined that this was a 6 star general. But, there never has been a 6 star rank approved by the Army or any other service branch. Here's a quote from wiki that has it correct, I think. quote:
... the United States Army firmly states (to the present day) that there has never been an officially recognized six-star general rank in the United States military hierarchy. John Pershing's status remains in a very gray area, in particular due to the vague statements made by Secretary of War Stimson and the fact that Pershing was never on active duty at the same time as a five-star General of the Army. Pershing's rank has thus been interpreted as a senior version of a four-star general, an earlier version of a five-star general, or a six-star rank that has never been officially recognized.
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