Six-star rank: Difference between revisions

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Although the term six-star rank has never been explicitly established by any nation, the American supreme rank of general of the armies came to be associated with a six-star insignia towards the end of World War II.^{[citation needed]}

The term six-star is based on the proposed, but never adopted, insignia for the U.S. rank of general of the armies (note plural). The relative position of some U.S. ranks that used the word 'supreme', awarded prior to the creation of the explicitly five-star ranks of general of the army and fleet admiral, in December 1944, is unclear.^{[citation needed]}

The United States military has never explicitly endorsed a six-star rank. The rank of general of the armies was first created in 1799, but not awarded, thus the determination of the number of stars was never an issue. At the time, the highest number of stars used had been the three, worn by George Washington as the "General and Commander in Chief" of the Continental Army.^{[citation needed]}

The specific notion of a six-star insignia only emerged with the inter-related history of General John Pershing's 1919 promotion to "general of the armies", and the 1944 creation of the five-star rank "general of the army". Pershing was promoted to general of the armies in 1919, from what was then the highest rank, the four-star rank of general. Under the regulations of the time he was permitted to choose his insignia, and he chose four gold stars (in contrast to the four silver stars used by U.S. generals and admirals). General Pershing was still alive in 1944 when the specific five-star ranks of "general of the army" and "fleet admiral" were created. It was explicitly stated^{[by whom?]}^[when?] that he remained senior to the new five-star appointments, though there was no mention of this meaning a change to his insignia.^{[citation needed]}

In 1945, in preparation for the invasion of Japan, it was proposed^{[by whom?]} that five-star General of the Army Douglas MacArthur be promoted to General of the Armies in preparation for the planned Operation Downfall,^{[citation needed]} and that this would explicitly be a six-star rank.^{[citation needed]} However, this and subsequent proposals^[which?] were never completed because Japan surrendered before the invasion took place. The Institute of Heraldry produced a single sketch of how the insignia for a six-star rank would appear; this sketch was later filed in Douglas MacArthur's service record.^[1]

References

^ Service Record of Douglas MacArthur – 1945 Promotion Proposal Package – National Personnel Records Center.^{[not specific enough to verify]}

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-{{merge|General of the Armies|date=October 2013}}
 {{redirect|Six-star general|the 1973 record album of that name|Vinegar Joe (band)|other high military ranks|highest military ranks}}
+[[File:US-O12 insignia.svg|thumb|100px|Proposed 1945 insignia for US general of the armies]]
-[[File:US-O12 insignia.svg|thumb|The [[Institute of Heraldry]] produced a single sketch of how the insignia for a six-star rank would appear; this sketch was later filed in [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s [[service record]].<ref>Service Record of Douglas MacArthur – 1945{{contradiction-inline|reason=secondary sources give a date 10 years later|date=September 2013}} Promotion Proposal Package – [[National Personnel Records Center]].{{Nonspecific|date=February 2011}}{{primary-inline|date=September 2013}}</ref>]]
+Although the term '''six-star rank''' has never been explicitly established by any nation, the American supreme rank of [[General of the Armies|general of the armies]] came to be associated with a six-star insignia towards the end of [[World War II]].{{cn|date=July 2013}}
-A '''six-star rank''' is a theoretical U.S. military rank whose badge of rank is designated by six stars.
+The term ''six-star'' is based on the proposed, but never adopted, insignia for the U.S. rank of general of the <u>armies</u> (note plural). The relative position of some U.S. ranks that used the word 'supreme', awarded prior to the creation of the explicitly five-star ranks of [[General of the Army (United States)|general of the army]] and [[Fleet Admiral (United States)|fleet admiral]], in December 1944, is unclear.{{cn|date=July 2013}}
-[[John J. Pershing]] held the rank of [[General of the Armies|General of the Armies of the United States]] after [[World War I]], but no special insignia was designed to go with the title.<ref name=foster/> The [[five-star rank]] insignia for the rank [[General of the Army]] was introduced in 1944.<ref name=foster/> Pershing wore four stars.<ref name=grier/> Retired Army colonel and military historian [[Trevor N. Dupuy]] has stated of Pershing's 1919 rank that, "it was like a six-star rank".<ref>Abrams, Jim (March 21, 1991) [http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1991/Schwarzkopf-Powell-Up-For-Awards-But-Fifth-Star-Not-Given-Lightly/id-ca238a618f3375dd323c17701712127e "Schwarzkopf, Powell Up For Awards But Fifth Star Not Given Lightly"], Associated Press</ref>
+The United States military has never explicitly endorsed a six-star rank. The rank of general of the armies was first created in 1799, but not awarded, thus the determination of the number of stars was never an issue.  At the time, the highest number of stars used had been the [[General_officers_in_the_United_States#American_Revolutionary_War_era|three]], worn by [[George Washington]] as the "General and Commander in Chief" of the [[Continental Army]].{{cn|date=July 2013}}
-In 1955, a six-star rank insignia and promotion to General of the Armies was considered for General of the Army [[Douglas MacArthur]], but the idea was shelved.<ref name=foster>Foster, Frank C. (2011) ''United States Army Medal, Badges and Insignias'', Medals of America Press, ISBN 9781884452673, page 19</ref><ref>[[Stanley Weintraub|Weintraub, Stanley]] (2007) ''15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: Three Generals Who Saved the American Century'', Simon & Schuster, ISBN 9781416545934, page 488</ref><ref>[[Michael Korda|Korda, Michael]] (2009) ''Ike'', HarperCollins, ISBN 9780061744969, page 190</ref>
+The specific notion of a six-star insignia only emerged with the inter-related history of General [[John Pershing]]'s 1919 promotion to "general of the <u>armies</u>", and the 1944 creation of the five-star rank "[[general of the army|general of the <u>army</u>]]". Pershing was promoted to general of the armies in 1919, from what was then the highest rank, the [[four-star rank]] of [[General (United States)|general]]. Under the regulations of the time he was permitted to choose his insignia, and he chose four gold stars (in contrast to the four silver stars used by U.S. generals and admirals).  General Pershing was still alive in 1944 when the specific [[five-star rank]]s of "general of the army" and "fleet admiral" were created. It was explicitly stated{{by whom?|date=July 2013}}{{when?|date=July 2013}} that he remained senior to the new five-star appointments, though there was no mention of this meaning a change to his insignia.{{cn|date=July 2013}}
-The American supreme rank of six-star General of the Armies has only been awarded once, posthumously to [[George Washington]].<ref name=grier>Grier, Peter (March 2012) [http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2012/March%202012/0312ranking.aspx "The Highest Ranking"], ''Air Force Magazine'', vol. 95, no. 3</ref><ref name=register>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19761012&id=MuVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4OADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5963,2770662 George Washington Wins Promotion to Six-Star Rank], ''Eugene Register-Guard'', October 12, 1976</ref> At his death in December 1799, Washington was a three-star lieutenant-general.<ref name=grier/> Although Congress created a higher rank in March 1799, President [[John Adams]] did not submit Washington's name for confirmation and so the rank was not awarded in Washington's lifetime.<ref name=register/> Two hundred years later, as part of the [[United States Bicentennial]] celebrations, Congress passed a joint resolution (sponsored by Representative [[Mario Biaggi]]<ref name=register/>) on September 28, 1976,  calling for Washington to be posthumously promoted to the highest possible rank above all other ranks in the United States Army for ever.<ref name=grier/><ref name=register/> President [[Gerald Ford]] signed the order on October 12,<ref name=register/> with an effective date of July 4, 1976.<ref name=grier/> Representative [[Lucien Nedzi]], who opposed the resolution, said the rank was "superfluous and unnecessary&nbsp;... it is like the Pope offering to make Christ a cardinal."<ref name=register/>
+In 1945, in preparation for the invasion of Japan, it was proposed{{by whom?|date=July 2013}} that five-star General of the Army [[Douglas MacArthur]] be promoted to General of the Armies in preparation for the planned [[Operation Downfall]],{{cn|date=August 2013}} and that this would explicitly be a six-star rank.{{cn|date=July 2013}} However, this and subsequent proposals{{which?|date=August 2013}} were never completed because Japan surrendered before the invasion took place. The [[Institute of Heraldry]] produced a single sketch of how the insignia for a six-star rank would appear; this sketch was later filed in Douglas MacArthur's [[service record]].<ref>Service Record of Douglas MacArthur – 1945 Promotion Proposal Package – [[National Personnel Records Center]].{{Nonspecific|date=February 2011}}</ref>
 == References ==
+{{Refimprove|date=March 2010}}
 <references />
 ==See also==
+* [[General of the Armies of the United States]]
 * [[Admiral of the Navy (United States)]]
 * [[Highest military ranks]]

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