But Did He Stay In A Six-Star Hotel?

When I was in Basic Training, there was a guy from Ohio in my flight name of Richard Westphal (sp?). He was one of those guys everyone picked on. It wasn't that he wasn't bright. I think he just lacked social skills. And maybe a little common sense. Like the man said, "Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt".

One day, we were discussing military history, and he remarked that the US had once had a six-star General. (The highest authorized rank is five stars, and we had all seen the charts.) He drew a lot of flak for that (among other things). Having no evidence one way or the other, I generally kept out of the debate.

Years later, I learned that after World War I, General of the Army John J. "Blackjack" Pershing had been promoted by Congress to the rank of "General of the Armies", and authorized to create his own insignia. An insignia of six stars was prpopsed, but Pershing never wore it.