When the 117th Congress convened on Jan. 3, 2021, only 91 - more than one-sixth - of its members were veterans, the lowest number since at least WWII, according to the MilitaryTimes. Serving in the military was once considered essential to attaining higher political office, especially the presidency, and most of America’s chief executives have been in one branch or another of the armed forces.
To compile a list of the presidents who served in the military - including state militias - 24/7 Tempo reviewed sources such as Militarytimes and Military.com.
Of the 46 men who have become president, 12 not only served but reached the rank of general, six of them during the Civil War. Men such as George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower demonstrated leadership and administrative abilities as generals that stood them in good stead as presidents.
But the biographies of presidents who did not become generals show that military life can reveal leadership skills that had yet to be demonstrated. That was the experience of Harry S. Truman, when he became the captain of an artillery unit in WWI. Political connections helped John F. Kennedy receive a commission in the Navy, but he showed his mettle during WWII as a PT boat commander who saved the lives of his ship mates after his boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer.
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