5 Star Generals

Rembrandt

THe Patton thread got me to thinking. Nothing bad against Patton and I am thankful for what he did. But I would like to see a movie about Macarthur.

Or how about a documentary about everyone who has been General of the Army. I thought there were 7 of them but I am only finding these 5.

George C. Marshall 16 December 1944
Douglas MacArthur 18 December 1944
Dwight D. Eisenhower 20 December 1944
Henry H. Arnold 21 December 1944
Omar Bradley 20 September 1950






I am not a number I am a free man

Rembrandt

Anyone catch the * NBC talking about how many 5 star generals would being showing up in Washington today?


Box of Girl Scout Cookies to the first of ya'll to name the last.....


b

Rembrandt

Enlighten me please, during WWII we had a number of 5 Star Generals....George Marshall, Omar Bradley, Douglas MacArthur, and perhaps others. Is there a rank of 5 Star today?...if not, why?

ndbilly

I THINK George Washington was awarded the rank as a posthumous honor. Other than that, I don't believe there were any others and there are none today. It is a rare distinction. Again, I'm not certain but believe the title is "General of the Army". Need help from our resident historians.

ndbilly

We missed Dwight D. in the accounting. He held the rank as well.

Redleg

The fifth star was awarded to our Generals so that their rank can be equivalent to the Grand High Marshalls and Super Dooper Generals of the other Armies. Ike wouldn't have to much say as Supreme Allied Commander if he had one less star than the cronies he was trying to lead.

badboybob

It's all about a bunch of rank happy bs. There are ten grades of officers. There are 9 grades of enlisted men. The enlisted men do the work, the officers get the credit and the generals go to Washington to get another promotion Years ago my best friend sent me a joke card addressed to 12 star general, Bob***** from 13 star general Chuck****. That about sums it up for me.Hey Chuck if'n ya see this let's get in touch again.

Rembrandt

Still confused....if they didn't get the 5th star till after their service was completed, then they wouldn't have outranked General's from other countries (as illustrated with the Ike example). Who were all the 5 stars? and did the Navy have an equivalant?Omar BradleyDouglas MacArthurGeo.C.MarshallDwight D. Eisenhower

oldfriends

This was a good question. I used a search engine and came up with the following at http://www.historyguy.com/5-star-military.htm: The Army's Five-Star Generals: General George C. Marshall General Douglas MacArthur General Dwight D. Eisenhower General Omar N. Bradley The Navy's Five-Star Fleet Admirals: Admiral William D. Leahy Admiral Ernest J. King Admiral Chester Nimitz Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey The Air Force Five-Star General: General Henry "Hap" Arnold --Note: General Arnold actually was awarded this rank twice. In 1944, he received his fifth star while the air force was still part of the Army. It was then known as the U.S. Army Air Corps. After the Air Force separated from the Army, he became the new service's only Five-Star General.

beachmaster73

Well I think Pershing got that rank posthumously. Also Add Nimitz, Halsey, from the Navy, Hap Arnold from the Air Force and not a hell of a lot of others.badboybob...sorry you had such poor time in the service...in my experience certain services officers set a bright shining example of excellence. In particular the USMC officers always took care of their people before they took care of themselves. Of course a lot of poor enlisted performers just had to complain about something and that generally was their officers. Beach

Rembrandt

Is it possible for someone to get a 5th star today? or why have we seen none since WWII?

Rosie

I salute you Beach.

ndbilly

We haven't won a major war since 1945. The fifth star would be difficult to justify.

buddyb

If I remember correctly, fifth stars are only awarded in time of declared war.

idsman75

Rembrandt--I thought for sure you would have turned to "The General" to answer this question for you...heh heh heh.In all seriousness though, Beach brings up a good point. Just about every service member has something to gripe about. It's the nature of the beast. After two years at West Point I decided that I aspired more towards the profession of the non-commissioned officer and subsequently left and continued one more year of college elsewhere before enlisting in the Army. My younger brother turned down an appointment to the Naval Academy to go to USMA. He is in his second year there and is probably going to be an officer within the branch in which I serve. He always follows in his older brother's footsteps. My current term of service ends about a month after he is commissioned. I never thought I'd be saluting my little bro![This message has been edited by idsman75 (edited 01-11-2002).]