Existing comment:
Honoring General Pershing
In September 1919, responding to a formal vote of thanks, General John J. Pershing addressed a joint session of Congress, with members of the diplomatic corps, the president's cabinet, and leading officers of the army and navy also in attendance. Of the many honors Pershing received following World War I, perhaps the greatest was promotion in his lifetime to the rank of General of the Armies, the highest rank ever bestowed in the United States Army. Only George Washington shares the rank, having been promoted posthumously in 1976. |