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| {{redirect|Six-star general|the 1973 record album of that name|Vinegar Joe (band)|other high military ranks|highest military ranks}} | {{redirect|Six-star general|the 1973 record album of that name|Vinegar Joe (band)|other high military ranks|highest military ranks}} | ||
| ] | |||
| ] produced a single sketch of how the insignia for a six-star rank would appear; this sketch was later filed in ]'s ].<ref>Service Record of Douglas MacArthur – 1945{{contradiction-inline|reason=secondary sources give a date 10 years later|date=September 2013}} Promotion Proposal Package – ].{{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 ] came to be associated with a six-star insignia towards the end of ],{{cn|date=July 2013}}<ref name=GAS1945>See ] for a more detailed explanation.</ref> and was again revived in 1955.<ref name=GAS1955>See ] for a more detailed explanation.</ref> | |||
| 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 ] and ], in December 1944, is unclear.{{cn|date=July 2013}} | |||
| ] held the rank of ] after ], but no special insignia was designed to go with the title.<ref name=foster/> The ] insignia for the rank ] was introduced in 1944.<ref name=foster/> Pershing wore four stars.<ref name=grier/> Retired Army colonel and military historian ] has stated of Pershing's 1919 rank that, "it was like a six-star rank".<ref>Abrams, Jim (March 21, 1991) , Associated Press</ref> | |||
| <u>The United States military has never explicitly endorsed a six-star rank.</u> 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 ], worn by ] as the "General and Commander in Chief" of the ].{{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 ], 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>] (2007) ''15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: Three Generals Who Saved the American Century'', Simon & Schuster, ISBN 9781416545934, page 488</ref><ref>] (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 ]'s 1919 promotion to "general of the <u>armies</u>", and the 1944 creation of the five-star rank "]". Pershing was promoted to general of the armies in 1919, from what was then the highest rank, the ] of ]. 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 ]s of "general of the army" and "fleet admiral" were created. It was explicitly stated<ref>Refer to the ] article for details</ref> 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 ].<ref name=grier>Grier, Peter (March 2012) , ''Air Force Magazine'', vol. 95, no. 3</ref><ref name=register>, ''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 ] 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 ] celebrations, Congress passed a joint resolution (sponsored by Representative ]<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 ] signed the order on October 12,<ref name=register/> with an effective date of July 4, 1976.<ref name=grier/> Representative ], who opposed the resolution, said the rank was "superfluous and unnecessary ... 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 that five-star General of the Army ] be promoted to General of the Armies in preparation for the planned ],<ref name=GAS1945/> and that this would explicitly be a six-star rank.<ref name=GAS1945/> However, never eventuated because Japan surrendered before the invasion took place. The ] produced a single sketch of how the insignia for a six-star rank would appear; this sketch was later filed in Douglas MacArthur's ].<ref>Service Record of Douglas MacArthur – 1945 Promotion Proposal Package – ].{{Nonspecific|date=February 2011}}</ref> For a variety of reasons, a later proposal in the mid 1950s also did not eventuate.<ref name=GAS1955/> | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 13:44, 8 October 2013
"Six-star general" redirects here. For the 1973 record album of that name, see Vinegar Joe (band). For other high military ranks, see highest military ranks.
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, and was again revived in 1955.
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.
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.
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 that he remained senior to the new five-star appointments, though there was no mention of this meaning a change to his insignia.
In 1945, in preparation for the invasion of Japan, it was proposed that five-star General of the Army Douglas MacArthur be promoted to General of the Armies in preparation for the planned Operation Downfall, and that this would explicitly be a six-star rank. However, never eventuated 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. For a variety of reasons, a later proposal in the mid 1950s also did not eventuate.
References
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Six-star rank" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- ^ See General of the Armies#World War II and six-star rank for a more detailed explanation.
- ^ See General of the Armies#Douglas MacArthur and the renewed effort for a more detailed explanation.
- Refer to the John Pershing article for details
- Service Record of Douglas MacArthur – 1945 Promotion Proposal Package – National Personnel Records Center.
See also
- General of the Armies of the United States
- Admiral of the Navy (United States)
- Highest military ranks
- Generalissimo
External links
- Abrams, Jim (March 21, 1991) "Schwarzkopf, Powell Up For Awards But Fifth Star Not Given Lightly", Associated Press
- Foster, Frank C. (2011) United States Army Medal, Badges and Insignias, Medals of America Press, ISBN 9781884452673, page 19
- Grier, Peter (March 2012) "The Highest Ranking", Air Force Magazine, vol. 95, no. 3
- Korda, Michael (2009) Ike, HarperCollins, ISBN 9780061744969, page 190
- Weintraub, Stanley (2007) 15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: Three Generals Who Saved the American Century, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 9781416545934, page 488
- George Washington Wins Promotion to Six-Star Rank, Eugene Register-Guard, October 12, 1976 - Note: This article contains a number of inaccuracies, not the least of which is that Washington was NOT promoted to "Six-Star Rank"
