six star generals? (1 Viewer)

[W T Allison II]

Was anyone ever considered the equivalent of a six star general?

 

[4th Hussar]

Just MacArthur , in his own mind

 

[Spitfrnd]

John Pershing was granted the rank of General of the Armies of the Unitied States in 1919 as recognition of his contributions in WWII, which was considered the equivalent of a 6th star and above the five star general of the Army rank. Also George Washington was posthumously appointed to the 6 star General of the Armies rank. That is true about McArthur though.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

John Pershing was granted the rank of General of the Armies of the Unitied States in 1919 as recognition of his contributions in WWII, which was considered the equivalent of a 6th star and above the five star general of the Army rank. Also George Washington was posthumously appointed to the 6 star General of the Armies rank. That is true about McArthur though.

McArthur was considered for the rank, but it was never approved. Washington was made a 6 star general in 1976 for the bicentennial.

Terry

 

[marco55]

Am I wrong but is Field Marshal a title and not a rank?
Mark

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Am I wrong but is Field Marshal a title and not a rank?
Mark

It's an actual rank above General and is used by only a few countries not including the US. Duke of Wellington was a Field Marshall. So was Rommel.

Terry

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Can anyone guess what the symbol of a US 6 star general looks like?

Terry

 

[OzDigger]

Can anyone guess what the symbol of a US 6 star general looks like?

Terry

Five stars in a circle forming an inner pentagon enclosing a Sixth star.

 

[Deitz]

Can anyone guess what the symbol of a US 6 star general looks like?

Terry

I do not think there is one, there was a proposed one with the sixth star in the middle.

 

[Spitfrnd]

Can anyone guess what the symbol of a US 6 star general looks like?

Terry

None has ever been adopted. This is the one that was formally proposed.

 

[OzDigger]

I do not think there is one, there was a proposed one with the sixth star in the middle.

Yes, it was a proposed rank that was never officially adopted: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_star_rank

 

[Phantom Warrior]

None has ever been adopted. This is the one that was formally proposed.

When Pershing was promoted, he was still alive and was authorized to create his own insignia for the position General of the Armies and chose to wear the four stars of a General, but in gold. The US did not have a 5 star general rank at the time. The insignia was never formally approved. When Washington was promoted in 1976, I don't think any insignia was suggested.

The issue of 4 star, 5 star and 6 star generals became a problem in WW2 as other countries like England and France had 5 star generals and Field Marshalls but the US did not. There had not been a 5 star general in the US since Grant was promoted to General of the Army (not armies) after the Civil War. The US recreated the rank in December 1944 and there were a few promotions like Eisenhower and MacArthur.

Terry

 

[W T Allison II]

When Pershing was promoted, he was still alive and was authorized to create his own insignia for the position General of the Armies and chose to wear the four stars of a General, but in gold. The US did not have a 5 star general rank at the time. The insignia was never formally approved. When Washington was promoted in 1976, I don't think any insignia was suggested.

The issue of 4 star, 5 star and 6 star generals became a problem in WW2 as other countries like England and France had 5 star generals and Field Marshalls but the US did not. There had not been a 5 star general in the US since Grant was promoted to General of the Army (not armies) after the Civil War. The US recreated the rank in December 1944 and there were a few promotions like Eisenhower and MacArthur.

Terry

I had in mind Pershing and Washington and Grant probably should have. However check out your local police chief, fire chief and/or sheriff and see how many stars they have on their collars at least in Texas.

 

[binder001]

Interestingly, the US 5-star rank "General of the Army" was adopted to be the US equivalent of the UK "Field Marshall" rank. This was because of the frequent Allied commands and that the British had several Field Marshalls around. One story says that the US was going to adopt the rank of "Field Marshall" but the senior Army commander was General George C. Mashall and he didn't like the idea of being called Field Mashall Marshall. Sio, it became "General of the Army" (and "Fleet Admiral").

Gary B.

 

[OzDigger]

Interestingly, the US 5-star rank "General of the Army" was adopted to be the US equivalent of the UK "Field Marshall" rank. This was because of the frequent Allied commands and that the British had several Field Marshalls around. One story says that the US was going to adopt the rank of "Field Marshall" but the senior Army commander was General George C. Mashall and he didn't like the idea of being called Field Mashall Marshall. Sio, it became "General of the Army" (and "Fleet Admiral").

Gary B.

Yes, I did read that earlier about Marshall's feelings on the matter, funny stuff.