[matthew fuller]

The insignia for General of the Army, as created in 1944, consisted of five stars in a pentagonal pattern, with points touching. The five officers who have held the 1944 version of General of the Army are:

George Marshall 16 December 1944

Douglas MacArthur 18 December 1944

Dwight D. Eisenhower 20 December 1944

Henry H. Arnold 21 December 1944

Omar Bradley 22 September 1950

There have been no “Generals of The Army” since General Bradley. (There have been three equivalent Naval officers, “Fleet Admirals”).

[section9]

Just out of interest, since this was FDR handing out stars like they were so many post offices, how many Flag Officers besides Ernest King got a fifth star?

Did Nimitz get one?

Best,

Chris

[Huntress]

I see that Marshall got his fifth star two days before MacArthur. I bet that drove Mac nuts. ;-D

[stylin19a]

Hap Arnold 5 star for 2 different branches.

[redhead]

I stand corrected. See post above. Still love the idea of a 5-star General, though.

[higgmeister]

I only learned recently that General "Black Jack" Pershing out ranks all nine of the Five Star ranks.

As there was no prescribed insignia for this rank, General of the Armies of the United States, General Pershing chose the four stars of a full general, except in gold. The rank has been argued to be equivalent to "6-star" general, as the insignia of the next lowest rank "General of the Army" is designated by five stars. According to the biography Until the Last Trumpet Sounds by Gene Smith, Pershing never wore the rank on his uniform.

Then in 1976, Congress posthumously appointed General Washington to the grade of General of the Armies to out rank them all.