Re: when the 5-star rank was created
There is a distinction between a rank that is signified with 5 stars and a 5-star rank. An army can assign whatever insignia or title it wants to each rank, but the terms 5-star, 4-star, 3-star, etc are often used because the level of responsibility translates across different armies, for instance the 'General of the Army' rank in the US is equivalent to 'Field Marshal' rank in the UK so both are referred to as 5-star ranks, Washington & Grant didn't actually wear 5 stars but held 5-star equivalent ranks as the top commander during wartime. The 'General of the Army' rank that is signified by 5 stars was created during WWII in the lead up to D-Day as the US needed to sync its formal leadership to the British & Commonwealth system, the story often told as to why the US called the new rank 'General of the Army' rather than 'Field Marshal' (the model UK rank) is that the first man to be promoted to the rank, George Marshall, didn't want to be known as Marshal Marshall. |
Military Ranks (US)
Military-free Presidents
Military Post Locations
