Pershing State Park

John J. Pershing

John Joseph Black Jack Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Pershing is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to General of the Armies, the highest authorized rank in the United States Army, signifying service directly under the president.(A retroactive Congressional edict passed in 1976 promoted George Washington to the same rank but with higher seniority.) Pershing holds the first United States officer service number (O-1). He was regarded as a mentor by the generation of American generals who led the United States Army in Europe during World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar N. Bradley, and George S. Patton. A somewhat controversial figure, his tactics have been harshly criticized both by commanders at the time and by modern historians. His reliance on costly frontal assaults, long after other allied armies had abandoned such tactics, has been blamed for causing unnecessarily high American casualties. Pershing was born on a farm near Laclede, Missouri, to businessman John Fletcher Pershing and homemaker Ann Elizabeth Thompson. His paternal ancestors, whose name originally was Persching, emigrated from Germany in the late 18th century. Pershing's mother was of English descent. He also had five siblings: brothers James (b. 1862) and Ward (b. 1874), and sisters Mary Elizabeth (b. 1864), Anna May (b. 1867) and Grace (b. 1869); three other children died in infancy. When the Civil War began, his father worked as a sutler for the 18th Missouri Volunteer Infantry, but did not serve in the military.

Pershing was sworn in as a West Point cadet in the fall of 1882. He was selected early for leadership and became successively First Corporal, First Sergeant, First Lieutenant, and First Captain, the highest possible cadet rank. Pershing commanded ex officio the West Point Honor Guard that escorted the funeral of President Ulysses S. Grant. Pershing graduated from West Point in the summer of 1886 and was commended by the Superintendent of West Point, General Wesley Merritt, for high leadership skills and possessing superb ability. Pershing briefly considered petitioning the Army to let him study law and delay his commission. He applied for a furlough from West Point, but soon withdrew the request in favor of active Army duty. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1886, at age 26, graduating 30th in a class of 77.

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John J. Pershing

John Joseph Black Jack Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Pershing is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to General of the Armies, the highest authorized rank in the United States Army, signifying service directly under the president. (A retroactive Congressional edict passed in 1976 promoted George Washington to the same rank but with higher seniority.) Pershing holds the first United States officer service number (O-1). He was regarded as a mentor by the generation of American generals who led the United States Army in Europe during World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar N. Bradley, and George S. Patton. A somewhat controversial figure, his tactics have been harshly criticized both by commanders at the time and by modern historians. His reliance on costly frontal assaults, long after other allied armies had abandoned such tactics, has been blamed for causing unnecessarily high American casualties.


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John J. Pershing | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
John J. Pershing


00:02:44 1 Early life
00:04:26 2 West Point years
00:05:36 3 Early career
00:08:35 4 West Point instructor
00:09:18 5 Spanish– and Philippine–American wars
00:12:45 6 Rise to general
00:16:47 7 Pancho Villa and Mexico
00:17:17 7.1 Death of wife and children
00:18:07 7.2 Relationship with Nita Patton
00:19:07 7.3 Commander of Villa expedition
00:20:02 8 World War I
00:23:27 8.1 Battle of Hamel
00:25:55 8.2 African-American units
00:26:56 9 World War I: 1918 and full American participation
00:34:51 10 Later career
00:40:53 11 Death
00:41:25 12 Family
00:42:29 13 Summary of service
00:42:39 13.1 Dates of rank
00:42:47 13.2 Proposed six-star insignia
00:42:57 13.3 Assignment history
00:45:01 13.4 Honors and awards
00:45:53 13.4.1 United States decorations and medals
00:46:47 13.4.2 International awards
00:46:55 13.4.3 Civilian awards
00:47:21 14 Other honors and miscellany
00:47:59 15 In popular culture
00:49:03 16 See also



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SUMMARY
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General of the Armies John Joseph Black Jack Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948) was a senior United States Army officer. His most famous post was when he served as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front in World War I, 1917–18.
Pershing rejected British and French demands that American forces be integrated with their armies, and insisted that the AEF would operate as a single unit under his command, although some American divisions fought under British command, and he also allowed all-black units to be integrated with the French army.
Pershing's soldiers first saw serious battle at Cantigny, Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Soissons. To speed up the arrival of the doughboys, they embarked for France leaving the heavy equipment behind, and used British and French tanks, artillery, airplanes and other munitions. In September 1918 at St. Mihiel, the First Army was directly under Pershing's command; it overwhelmed the salient – the encroachment into Allied territory – that the German Army had held for three years. For the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Pershing shifted roughly 600,000 American soldiers to the heavily defended forests of the Argonne, keeping his divisions engaged in hard fighting for 47 days, alongside the French. The Allied Hundred Days Offensive, which the Argonne fighting was part of, contributed to Germany calling for an armistice. Pershing was of the opinion that the war should continue and that all of Germany should be occupied in an effort to permanently destroy German militarism.
Pershing is the only American to be promoted in his own lifetime to General of the Armies rank, the highest possible rank in the United States Army. Allowed to select his own insignia, Pershing chose to use four gold stars to distinguish himself from those officers who held the rank of General, which was signified with four silver stars. After the creation of the five-star General of the Army rank during World War II, his rank of General of the Armies could unofficially be considered that of a six-star general, but he died before the proposed insignia could be considered and acted on by Congress.
Some of his tactics have been criticized both by other commanders at the time and by modern historians. His reliance on costly frontal assaults, long after other Allied armies had abandoned such tactics, has been blamed for causing unnecessarily high American casualties. In addition to leading the A.E.F. to victory in World War I, Pershing notably served as a mentor to many in the generation of generals who led the United States Army during World War II, including George Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Lesley J. McNair, George S. Patton, and Douglas MacArthur.

Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age...

Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I
The Battle of the Meuse-Argonne is the deadliest clash in American history: more than a million untested American soldiers went up against a better-trained and experienced German army, resulting in more than 26,000 deaths and leaving nearly 100,000 wounded. Yet in forty-seven days of intense combat, these Americans forced the Germans to surrender, bringing the First World War to an end. Historian Mitchell Yockelson tells how General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing’s exemplary leadership led to the unlikeliest of victories. A book signing follows the program.