John Pershing shone like only one other general.
No, he didn't wear six stars.
His top number was four.
What he claimed was the title: General of the Armies. Plural.
Only George Washington shares that mark, landing kudos from Congress during America's bicentennial — two centuries after his death.
Pershing (1860-1948) claimed that stratospheric rank in 1919 — a year after spearheading the Army's triumph in World War I.
His performance in Europe drew even louder huzzahs from regular citizens. As his ship approached the East Coast in September 1919, he was welcomed by "tugs, destroyer escorts, water jets, overhead airplanes, salute guns, whistles, horns and general pandemonium," wrote Donald Smythe in "Pershing."
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