Or alternately…“They might be fake They might be lies, They might be big, big, fake, fake lies.”
I’m not sure if TMBG* would appreciate this connection, but I for one endorse the clever adaptation to the circumstances of the thread.
*They Might Be Giants (both the song and band) for those who don’t know.
And what was his rank at the time he got sick? Oh, yes. “Brevet E-8”. (Snort) Since MacArthur was evacuated on March 11, 1942, that’s some mighty impressive rank advancement. One might even say it’s unbelievable.
Take a wild guess how many privates and corporals are assigned as drivers for generals.
I’ll leave aside for now the issue of some junior enlisted member being sent by ship or airplane back and forth across the Pacific from/to an island surrounded by the Japanese in the early days of America’s entry into the Second World War.
There’s a saying about tangled webs. You should look into it.
Few people know this, but in 1944 Gen. MacArthur said upon landing on Leyte, “So I came here, and proved you wrong - with cites.”
Hey, Doc?
Far East Air Force (United States) - Wikipedia.
Okay, not the entire- but most did.
You dont think there were NCOs in HQ units that did this?
You cant be both?
Which is why- you cowardly racist shitweasel I put it in quotes, as that is what most people call it. The VA, on my fathers tombstone says " Branch:US ARMY AIR FORCES
Rank:CPL
War:WORLD WAR II
Served 1941-1946."
You think that no one in the HQ was in the Flying branch? Like , they were all Infantry, no armored or artillery or Quartermasters or any of dozens of other branches of the US Army? And that was after Father was flown out to Australia, then shipped back to the USA, then was sent back to the pacific.
Nope,. Brevet E4,. which was his permanent rank, he was later breveted to E6 and other ranks as needed- This was very common in war zones. I am surprised you dont know this.
He was never a general’s personal driver, nor did I claim this. He ran messages around for the HQ.
Many American troops arrived in Australia starting in early 1942, shipped across the Pacific. Something like a million American servicemen were sent to Australia. Strangely, the transport ships went back to get more, carrying sick or injured men on the way back. How did the entire 32nd Infantry Division- for example- get from the USA to fight in Nov 1942 in new Guinea? How about the 1st marine division get from America to Guadalcanal? Did they walk?
So… do you believe him? Is he telling the truth?
- Yes, I believe he has a handle on the facts and is being honest.
- Do I believe him? Ha ha ha ha no.
- I believe he doesn’t know the difference and is just being blindly defensive as usual.
0
voters
Needs an option: haven’t read anything they’ve posted in years.
It’s not worth my time to read their posts.
This. 
But wait…
Never mind that breveting to enlisted ranks wasn’t even a thing, and even the actual historical practice of breveting to higher commissioned ranks within the US military was no longer a thing by WWII (although apparently brought back in a limited context in recent years, although honestly it reads more like the Army’s term for what the Navy calls “spot promotion” and which has been a thing for a long time).
E-8 didn’t even exist until the late-Fifties.
Not within enlisted ranks, no, but there had been breveting from noncommissioned to commissioned officers.
Watch Doc now try to claim that dear old Dad had really been an officer.
Let me be very clear: arguably, I am being pedantic. I am very well aware that there have been various temporary, positional, operational, wartime, and/or battlefield promotion schemes in the US Army and the US military at large throughout its history, continuing into the present. I myself was selected for a spot promotion to Lieutenant Commander in the Navy by virtue of the position I had received orders to occupy. I am just as well aware that the practice of breveting was even one of those mechanisms. Though never, so far as I know, to (I used that precise word for a reason) enlisted ranks, and not in any case during WWII.
Most charitably, the Doctor here is just confused as to the precise mechanism by which his father was or purported to be temporarily advanced.
But I’m not interested in being charitable here. Not when it comes down to being pedantic with someone who, as a review of this thread itself will show, is himself notoriously pedantic.
Of course.
Some of us are not. 
Oh, dear; what yarn is being spun this time? Not that anyone else really cares…
Really, Doc, let it go. This dance routine you do whenever certain Dopers mention your father is getting old.
Maybe, but this says “Yes, the US Army did utilize temporary ranks for Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) during World War II.” But if the correct term isnt “brevet” and is instead “spot promotion” or " temporary” it is the same thing.
Right LATER.
Monty lies again by saying
When he got sick and was invalided out- because i never claimed that. I said he was made a E4, then later came back and got other temporary ranks- never confirmed.
and a LOT of US servicemen were invalided out due to Malaria.
See, that was a question.
Nope, NCO all the way.
Especially during WW2 in a war theatre..
I was never in the military. All I know is that Dad had pictures of him wearing E6 stripes while in the pacific. But his permanent rank was only E4, which is on his tombstone- which I quoted. However, when he joined the National Gd. he was made E6 based upon his WW2 service. Still, just a NCO.
So Monty here lied when he claimed I said my Dad was a general’s personal chauffeur. He was not. Monty then lied
And I had said he was E4 when he got sick, and later had some temporary ranks- E7. I guessed he might have been E8?? All I know is that he wore 3 stripes and a rocker in some photos and complained that none of his temporary promotions were ever made permanent.
But as far as E8 not being a rank-
The highest enlisted rank given there is Master Sgt. What rate is Master sgt (today)? E8 You are thinking of Sgt Major, E9, which yes- didnt exist back in WW2. But they didnt use E ratings they used Pay grades 1 (highest) to 7 lowest. Grade 1 was master sgt and First Sgt. Grade 1 would be an E8 today.
Look, TB is a coward and a liar, by attacking my Father in a Pit Thread. He had no business doing that. So, if someone attacked your family in a Pit thread, you’d let it go?
I can only say one thing in response to that:
“You cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place.” - Jonathan Swift
People are free to believe what they want. I don’t really give enough of a shit to argue with anyone who clearly has made up their mind.
This thread is getting tedious. It used to be more fun.
I’ve been on the verge of putting him on ignore for ages.
Where i said- **Honestly your story sounds believable to me, but the hypocrisy is strong in this one.
I am willing to accept your dad stories, OK?