9 Five Star General Officers | The Countdown Ep. 7
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- The U.S. military has updated its rank structure multiple times to better accommodate changes on the battlefield. One such change came in 1944 with the creation of the five-star officer rank. Although never decommissioned, there have only been nine men to wear this rank.
00:00 Intro
32:56 Dwight D. Eisenhower
58:57 William D. Leahy
1:23:23 George Marshall
1:44:26 Earnest J. King
2:08:07 Douglas MacArthur
2:26:44 Chester W. Nimitz
2:50:47 Henry H. Arnold
3:09:23 William F. Halsey Jr.
3:30:46 Omar N. Bradley
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There is another 5 star general, although his promotion came 200 years later. On October 11, 1976 President Gerald Ford retroactively promoted General George Washington to the rank of General of the Armies, awarding him a fifth star. During his lifetime Washington held the official rank of Lieutenant General, a three star general. Two hundred years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, President Ford granted the promotion, explaining that Washington would always be the most senior US officer, outranking all other later generals. I think it appropriate to include him in this list, even though he never wore a 4th or 5th star during his illustrious lifetime.
Technically, General of the Armies is considered a six star rank. Also, General Pershing had that rank too.
Actually The rank granted to Washington was the equivalent of a six star rank. Though no ensignia was made for the rank. The rank and title was to distinguish him from all other Generals past present and future. The purpose of it was so that no other General would ever be thought of as equal or superior in rank to Washington.
Actually, Washington already rose to the highest rank in the Military... It's called Commander in Chief and he was the first to hold it when he became President. In that role he out ranked any future General of the Armies. Lets not forget that the gift given to the United States by Washington was refusing to be made King. In this he should be forever honored. But also this implies that he would not have been comfortable with this bogus, 200 year late, promotion... that was actually a demotion as he was already President.
@@silvestrocrino3256 Except Commander in Chief is a civilian rank invested in the President, not a military rank. It is by its very definition NOT a military rank. Seventeen Presidents have been Commander in Chief and have NEVER been in the military. Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, Warren Harding, William Howard Taft, Grover Cleveland, Millard Fillmore, John Quincy Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The Constitution vests the C in C position in the President because the military in the US is subordinate to the civil authority. That status dates back to the Declaration of Independence...one of the complaints that lead to breaking ties with England was it giving military leaders authority over civilian leaders in the colonial legislatures. The promotion of Washington was in recognition of his military achievments, not his political office.
Turns out this was a law made by Congress: George Washington was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by the congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 passed on 19 January 1976, with an effective appointment date of 4 July 1976 but having rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present. (Wiki en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-star_rank)...
I had the honor of meeting Omar Bradley before he died. Truly amazing. He was the GI's General. I drove for 3 of his granddaughters at his funeral.
Well-produced!!! Short and to the point, with only top need-to-know facts. Thanks!
In 1977, while in Germany as an Air Force brat at Ramstien AFB, I had no idea about the tremendous honor to hear Omar Bradley speak to christen something while he was wheelchair bound. I could not understand all the buildup until I was in the service myself and understood more of its history.
In the armed forces of The United Kingdom the equivalent of a 'five-star rank' goes back to 1736. The three equivalent ranks in each branch are Field Marshal, Admiral of the Fleet, and Marshal of the R.A.F. These ranks are no longer granted but there are a few men still alive who hold them. The King or Queen Regnant and her Consort all hold the three ranks in a ceremonial capacity. The sovereign either King or Queen Regnant also holds the much older rank of Lord High Admiral. The late Queen who held this rank transferred it to the late Duke of Edinburgh several years ago in recognition of his distinguished naval career during and after world war 11. It was one of his ranks and positions that was read out at his funeral before the committal.
An outstanding video, but allow me offer some additions. There are four other Americans that have been promoted to what is commonly referred to as "5-star rank," but more accurately referred to as "General of the Armies" or "Fleet Admiral," namely Fleet Admiral George Dewey who was promoted to Fleet Admiral in 1903, General of the Armies John J. Pershing who was promoted to that grade in 1919, General of the Armies George Washington posthumously promoted to that grade on the Bi-Centennial of the United States in 1976, and most recently, General of the Armies Ulysses S. Grant, posthumously promoted to that grade in 2022.
Turns out there is a number 10: George Washington was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by the congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 passed on 19 January 1976, with an effective appointment date of 4 July 1976 - having rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present. This restored Washington's position as the most senior U.S. military officer (source Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-star_rank)
Congratulations
You are right! TY…Ike!
Raymond Spruance was also rewarded as five start admiral by Congress after he died
Swartzkopf , Colin Powell, and Lloyd Austin should be on this list .
As you note, the rank of Five Star is only awarded during wartime. I read that Allied Field Marshals refused to consider our Four Stars their equal, so Congress created the Five Star. I don't know how accurate this is. However I think Montgomery was condescending in his attitude toward our Four Stars. Bradley was the last, and there may never be another. I've always thought Patton should have been promoted to Five Star, but we can all "guess" as to why he was not. He was a better field commander than either Eisenhower or Bradley. I've read somewhere that Washington and Pershing have been posthumously promoted to Six Star/General of the Armies - the only ones forevermore. Not sure about this. Great video.
Just out of curiosity, does anyone else think that Norman Schwarzkopf should have gotten a 5th star, even as a retirement gift? Or even bring back a brevet rank where he could have worn a 5th star without actually holding the rank? I always thought Congress and the Bush Administration (older Bush!) dropped the ball on that one!
No... if you are going to make an Army field commander a 5 star... you would need to promote the Chief of staff of the Army and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to 5 stars too... and then all the other Chiefs would get jealous and you would start having fights and duels during Joint Chiefs of Staff meetings.... it would be a mess.
@@silvestrocrino3256 ,I do see the logic. That's why I thought it might have been nice as a retirement gift where it wouldn't interfere with the active duty Army.
My father, a signalman in the Navy in WW2, was serving as a plotter in the CIC of a carrier serving as Halsey's flagship. He said he was a big butt. But he said Admiral Clark, a Cherokee Indian, was a truly nice guy.
General Pershing was promoted to General of the Armies. Congress authorized him to design his own rank insignia. He chose to wear four stars. The Army Generals were promoted based upon date of entry onto active duty. Marshall was 1901 (VMI) and MacArthur was 1903 (USMA), General Arnold was 1907 (USMA) both General Eisenhower and Bradley were 1915 (USMA). When the Air Force was created in 1947 General of the Army Arnold was appointed General of the Air Force. The Admirals listed were promoted to Five Star rank but they were not Generals. Admirals are referred to as "Flag Officers".
The admirals and generals were promoted 5 stars in order.
This video clip doesn’t mention but very important.
George Marshal was promoted before Douglas MacArthur and Dwight Eisenhower to establish his seniority over MacArthur and Eisenhower.
The 1st is William Leahy
2 nd is George Marshall….
Bradley only received it because MacArthur was still serving as military governor of Japan and then the supremo in Korea on the outbreak of war in 1950. MacArthur otherwise would have outranked his boss on the joint chiefs in Washington.
If I remember right, General John Pershing was given the equivalent rank of General of the Army during WWI and was told he could add the 5th star (or any insignia he wanted) but decided to stay with the 4 star insignia. If I'm wrong, let me know.
The one thing Pershing changed was to make his 4 stars gold rather than the standard silver.
General Pershing was a 4 star general but his rank was General of the Armies (which is a 6 star rank) but there was no rank equivalent so he chose to wear 4 gold stars
From the stories I've heard Marshall's objections were due to the rank at first consideration being called "Field Marshall" per the European tradition. This would have made him "Marshall Marshall" which would sound almost comical.
Well, if you look at it in that way 'General Marshall' also sounds odd...
Great list and I love it, however it is incomplete!
By act of the U.S. congress there are ONLY 2 generals in history of the country that had the honor to have the rank of ‘General of the Armies’ which is but not written down anywhere as a 6 star general.
These 2 distinguished generals were: General George Washington and General John ‘Black Jack’ Pershing who commanded all of the United States forces in France during World War I.
They often are forgotten when mentioning the list of the 5 star generals, maybe because they held a higher rank.
We covered them in this video: th-cam.com/video/IEyMz8WWAyc/w-d-xo.html 😁
Since the Shield of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff represents the Office, what better than to have the "Highest ranking" officer of US armed forces hold the higher rank of 5 star? Nore: Our country's last 5 star officer was also our first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
All other Chiefs of Staff are 4 stars,
So why not submit to the Senate a motion to re-enstate that distinction to reflect that which is so obvious?
There are a couple of 4 stars that could have been promoted to 5, but they weren't political enough. Not saying the 5 stars were politicians, just they were a little more political than lets say Patton or Fletcher or Spruance.
For the last Navy 5-star spot the Navy wanted Spruance. Halsey’s political allies refused. They wanted Halsey. A compromise was reached: Halsey got the rank & all the perks. Spruance wouldn’t get the rank but he would receive the full pay & benefits of a 4-star Admiral for life instead of the standard retirement pay which would be less.
The Navy went 1 step further-the naming of ships which Secnav does without Congressional approval. Halsey has had only 2 individual ships named after him. One was a cruiser in the class of ships named after 5-star Admiral Halsey. The other was a destroyer in the class of ships named after FOUR-star Admiral Burke. Even more indignant Burke, while a Captain, served under Halsey for a time in WW2. Halsey, a qualified Naval Aviator who commanded from carriers, has never had a carrier named for him & is not slated to have one named for him. Meanwhile Spruance had an entire class of ships named after him. Much more prestigious.
It is a violation of long-standing military law for an officer to issue an order to an officer of higher rank. That is why GA Grant was offered promotion to lieutenant general when Lincoln wanted him to command the US Army. Promotion of an active-duty officer to five-star rank would disrupt the way that the USA wages war.
I like them.
How about Gen. John J. Pershing
I think Norman H. Schwarzkopf should be promoted to 5 Star General Posthumously.
Good video! I am not certain of Dewey, but I think Washington (#1) should have 6 star rank, followed by Pershing, (#2)...the top & most senior officers of the army...I agree that Schwarzkoph should have been given a 5th star...subbed!
In 1976 Washington was given the rank “General of the Armies of the United States” & declared that no one will be equal or superior to Washington. The number of stars was never mentioned in the resolution but news media said it was a 6 star rank.
In 1919 Pershing was given the title “General of the Armies”. However Congress never stipulated how many stars to wear. All Pershing did was make his 4 stars gold as opposed to 4 silver stars for a General.
In 1944 Congress created “General of the Army”/ “Fleet Admiral” ranks. This time they specified the rank to have 5 stars.
When writing the 1944 law Pershing & his “….of the Armies” rank was discussed & placed into the 1944 law as being senior to the Army & Navy 5 star ranks even though the law didn’t mention the number of stars Pershing would wear. An article in a 1949 US Army magazine stated that someone with the rank “General of the Armies” could wear 6 stars if he wanted to. Pershing died in 1941 before the law was created which the entire discussion about how many stars he could wear pointless.
As for Dewey-in 1955 the Navy declared that the title “Admiral of the Navy” to be solely an honorary one.
Eisenhower was only promoted to 5 star General as General Montgomery was promoted to Field Marshall in September 44 Field Marshall is 5 star rank so he outranked Eisenhower even though he was Supreme commander
How is that an Only? He was Supreme Commander, it made sense that his rank be at least equivalent to any of the men under his command.
Good video data quality. Stop the insanity with the music. No one needs this loud background music!!
You owe me another suit because it got messed up
What about US Grant? He basically saved the Union from being broken up by the Confederacy.
Did we forget Admiral Nimetz he attended the rank nof 5 stars as well
Did you watch the whole thing?
He. Is. In. The. Video.
Austin Scott Miller
5s are more administrative. Those others were field/ fleet commanders.
Not so clear to me that MacArthur or Nimitz were purely administrative in their roles.
@Silvestro Crino
They weren't picking up a weapon either. Dug out Doug stayed in his bunker on Corregidor. Then left while his men became POW.
They form battle plans and send it down the chain to be implemented.
The "Promoted to Chief of the Army" for Dwight D Eisenhower wasn't so "no one else was equal or superior, American or Allied" lol
Britain's Montgomery had already been made the equivalent, a Field Marshal, an entire 3 months before Eisenhower was made Chief of the Army.
Thant us seven srsr general
A reason Marshall was against the rank because it was going to be “field Marshall”
Why wasn't Andy Jackson a 5-star
How about Persing?
Pershing was the only other officer to hold general of the armies. A rank that only Washington holds.
Nice video spoilt by the overbearing background music.
Starting in ok
Patton should have been 5 star…
Why not do the sections by date of rank...junior to senior?
Interesting. I just finished reading “The Admirals” a book about the Navy’s 4 Five’s stars. In the book the Arthur explains the reasons why Leahy, King, & Nimitz were promoted on 15, 17, 19, Dec 1944. Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower were promoted on 16, 18, 20th of Dec. The timing established clear order of seniority and near equivalent between the services.
What 5 star resigned his commission? Congress gave it back after he finished last “job”.
General Pershing , also had been a Five Star General, otherwise excellent presentation.
Thank you! Technically, Pershing never wore 5-stars. When he was promoted to General of the Armies (which doesn't have an official insignia), he continued to wear the four star insignia. We will be doing a video on him and General Washington soon, make sure to check it out!
There will never be a 5 star general in the Marine Corps
Macarthur wore his 5 stars in Korea so you are wrong!
MacArthur should have been left in the Philippines to pay for his incompetence as a general when the war started. He had 7 hours notice before the Japanese attacked his airfields and yet provided little leadership when it was needed most.
five star flag officer...
You forgot PRESIDENT,,GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON
Washington was posthumously promoted to General of the Armies, which isn't a five-star rank (it technically doesn't have an official insignia). It's confusing because it's sounds so close to the rank of General of the Army. We're doing another video on this subject soon!
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God usa defance two going ok
It should be 5 STARS GENERALS AND ADMIRALS
6 stars ===== Pershing
Colin Powell should have been given 5star rank. Or David Petraeus?
turn down the fucking music holy shit
Gerneral Mark A. Milley should be a 5 star too in my opinion.
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Fleet Admiral King was the worst.
MacArthur was the worst of this list.