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Born: September 13, 1860 -- Died: July 15, 1948 He closed his first cable report to Washington after the armistice with these words: "I pay supreme tribute to our officers and soldiers of the line. When I think of their heroism, their patience under hardships, their unflinching spirit of offensive action, I am filled with emotions which I am unable to express. Their deeds are immortal and they have earned the eternal gratitude of our country." After the war the title of General of the Armies of the United States was conferred upon Pershing, the only officer in American military history so designated. He was the fourth man to hold during active service the permanent rank of full general in the Regular Army of the United States. His illustrious predecessors were Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. (Washington was a Lieutenant-General and first Commander in Chief of the United States Army and a full general of the Continental Armies.) There was talk of the General being a candidate for President, but he stopped it with the terse announcement that he was not in politics. His interests were still with the Army. General Pershing, on his return to America, took over the office of Chief of Staff and devoted himself to shaping a national defense program. He fostered Defense Day and worked unceasingly for the citizens' training camps. He spoke often for preparedness. He retired on Sept. 13, 1924. He died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington on July 15, 1948. His funeral service, one of only a handful ever held at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery, was attended by literally thousands of American citizens as well as by the leaders of government and the military. He was buried, as was his wish, under a simple white gravestone in Section 34 of Arlington National Cemetery, near the gravesites of his "Doughboys" from World War I." Note: Information quoted from the official website of Arlington National Cemetery. (www.arlingtoncemetery.net) |
