(September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948)

John Joseph Pershing was one of America’s most famous Army officers. He led
the American Expeditionary Forces in World War l. He is the only person to be
promoted in his won lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army,General of the Armies. Pershing holds the first U.S. officer service number
(O-1). He was regarded as a mentor by a generation of American generals who
led the U.S. Army in Europe during WW ll, including George C. Marshall, Dwight
D. Eisenhower, Omar N. Bradley, and George S. Patton.

General Pershing (left) looks on as President Coolidge signs appropriation
bills for the Veterans Bureau in 1924