General Eisenhower Question - Rank

[SanDiegoTim]

FDR gave General Eisenhower a fifth star prior to Operation Overlord. Eisenhower appears on a You Tube video clearly wearing only four stars. The video was was taken following the Battle of the Falaise Pocket which was the third week of August. Anyone know why he wouldn’t have been wearing the fifth star?

[wevets]

According to Wikipedia, Eisenhower didn’t get his fifth star until December 1944, and Falaise Pocket seems to have occurred in August 1944…

General of the Army (United States) | World War II and Korean War era

@wikipedia

The insignia for the 1944 General of the Army rank consists of five stars in a pentagonal pattern, with points touching. The five officers who have held the 1944 version of General of the Army and the date of each’s appointment are as follows:

  •  	George Marshall	16 December 1944
  •  	Douglas MacArthur	18 December 1944
  •  	Dwight D. Eisenhower    	20 December 1944
  •  	Henry H. Arnold	21 December 1944
  •  	Omar Bradley	22 September 1950

[TokyoBayer]

@wevets

According to Wikipedia, Eisenhower didn’t get his fifth star until December 1944, and Falaise Pocket seems to have occurred in August 1944…

General of the Army (United States) - Wikipedia

From the link

Although briefly considered,[10] the U.S. Army did not introduce a rank of Field Marshal.

(. . . )

In addition, giving the rank the name “marshal” would have resulted in George Marshall being designated as “Field Marshal Marshall”, which was considered undignified.

That was amusing.

[SanDiegoTim]

Interesting. I thought he was given his 5th while he was preparing for D-Day so himself rank would be unquestionably higher than Montgomery.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

I assume that promoting them to the rank on separate days was deliberate so that time in rank would create an automatic hierarchy. But if so, why in the world would MacArthur be ranked ahead of Eisenhower?

[JRDelirious]

@SanDiegoTim

Interesting. I thought he was given his 5th while he was preparing for D-Day so himself rank would be unquestionably higher than Montgomery.

Montgomery became Field Marshal in September of 44.

@Exapno_Mapcase

I assume that promoting them to the rank on separate days was deliberate so that time in rank would create an automatic hierarchy. But if so, why in the world would MacArthur be ranked ahead of Eisenhower?

I must assume because MacArthur had longer time-in-service and time-in-rank by over a decade each (and even if you discount the time he was ostensibly “retired” and working as Marshal of the Philippine Army he would still be ahead). Marshall gets to be senior-in-rank due to being the CoS thus retaining overall functional seniority.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@JRDelirious

I must assume because MacArthur had longer time-in-service and time-in-rank by over a decade each (and even if you discount the time he was ostensibly “retired” and working as Marshal of the Philippine Army he would still be ahead). Marshall gets to be senior-in-rank due to being the CoS thus retaining overall functional seniority.

Thanks for the explanation.