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 the highest rank ever held in the United States Army — General of the Armies ( 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 . Early life . John Joseph Pershing was born on a farm near Laclede , Missouri , to businessman John Fletcher Pershing and homemaker Ann Elizabeth Thompson . His paternal side ancestors , whose name originally was Persching , immigrated 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 . John J . Pershing attended a school in Laclede that was reserved for precocious students who were also the children of prominent citizens . Completing high school in 1878 , he became a teacher of local African American children . In 1880 , Pershing entered the North Missouri Normal School ( now Truman State University ) in Kirksville , Missouri . Two years later , he applied to the United States Military Academy . Pershing later admitted that serving in the military was secondary to attending West Point , and he had applied because the education offered was better than that obtainable in rural Missouri . West Point years . 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 . Early career . Pershing reported for active duty on September 30 , 1886 , and was assigned to Troop L of the 6th U . S . Cavalry stationed at Fort Bayard , in the New Mexico Territory . While serving in the 6th Cavalry , Pershing participated in several Indian campaigns and was cited for bravery for actions against the Apache . During his time at Fort Stanton , Pershing and close friends Lt . Julius Penn and Lt . Richard B . Paddock were nicknamed " The Three Green P ' s , " spending their leisure time hunting and attending Hispanic dances . Pershing ' s sister Grace married Paddock in 1890 . Between 1887 and 1890 , Pershing served with the 6th Cavalry at various postings in California , Arizona , and North Dakota . He also became an expert marksman and , in 1891 , was rated second in pistol and fifth in rifle out of all soldiers in the U . S . Army . On December 9 , 1890 , Pershing and the 6th Cavalry arrived at Sioux City , Iowa , where Pershing played a role in suppressing the last uprisings of the Lakota ( Sioux ) Indians . Though he and his unit did not participate in the Wounded Knee Massacre , they did fight three days after it on January 1 , 1891 when Sioux warriors attacked the 6th Cavalry ' s supply wagons . When the Sioux began firing at the wagons , Pershing and his troops heard the shots and rode over six miles to where the attack was . The cavalry managed to make Chief War Eagle and his men retreat from the area after firing back at them . This would be the only occasion where Pershing would see action in the Ghost Dance campaign . A year later , he was assigned as an instructor of military tactics at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln . Pershing held this post until 1895 . While in Nebraska , Pershing attended law school and graduated in 1893 . Additionally , he formed a drill company , Company A , in 1891 that won the Omaha Cup . In 1893 , Company A became a fraternal organization and changed its name to the Varsity Rifles . The group changed its name for the last time in 1894 , renaming itself the Pershing Rifles in honor of its founder . On October 20 , 1892 , Pershing was promoted to first lieutenant and took command of a troop of the 10th Cavalry Regiment ( one of the original Buffalo Soldier regiments ) , composed of African - American soldiers under white officers . From Fort Assinniboine in north central Montana , he commanded an expedition to the south and southwest that rounded up and deported a large number of Cree Indians to Canada . West Point instructor . In 1897 , Pershing was appointed to the West Point tactical staff as an instructor , where he was assigned to Cadet Company A . Because of his strictness and rigidity , Pershing was unpopular with the cadets , who took to calling him " Nigger Jack " because of his service with the 10th Cavalry Regiment , a now famous unit formed as a segregated African - American unit and one of the original " Buffalo Soldier " regiments . During the course of his tour at the Academy , this epithet softened to " Black Jack " , although , according to Vandiver , " the intent remained hostile . " Still , this nickname would stick with Pershing for the rest of his life , and was known to the public as early as 1917 . Spanish – and Philippine – American wars . At the start of the Spanish – American War , First Lieutenant Pershing was the regimental quartermaster for 10th Cavalry Regiment ( Buffalo Soldiers ) and fought with the unit on Kettle and San Juan Hill in Cuba and was cited for gallantry . ( In 1919 , he was awarded the Silver Citation Star for these actions , and in 1932 the award was upgraded to the Silver Star decoration . ) Pershing also served with the 10th Cavalry during the siege and surrender of Santiago de Cuba . Pershing was commissioned as a major of United States Volunteers on August 26 , 1898 , and assigned as an ordnance officer . He was honorably discharged from the volunteers and reverted to his permanent rank of first lieutenant on May 12 , 1899 . Soon after , he was again commissioned as a major of Volunteers on June 6 , 1899 , as an assistant adjutant general . In March 1899 , after suffering from malaria , Pershing was put in charge of the Office of Customs and Insular Affairs which oversaw occupation forces in territories gained in the Spanish – American War , including Cuba , Puerto Rico , the Philippines , and Guam . When the Philippine – American War began , Pershing was either ordered or requested transfer to Manila . He reported on August 17 , 1899 , as a major of Volunteers and was assigned to the Department of Mindanao and Jolo and commanded efforts to suppress the Filipino Insurrection . On November 27 , 1900 , Pershing was appointed Adjutant General of his department and served in this posting until March 1 , 1901 . He was cited for bravery for actions on the Cagayan River while attempting to destroy a Philippine stronghold at Macajambo . On June 30 , 1901 , Pershing was honorably discharged from the Volunteers and he reverted to the rank of captain in the Regular Army to which he had been promoted on February 2 , 1901 . He served with the 1st Cavalry Regiment in the Philippines . He later was assigned to the 15th Cavalry Regiment , serving as an intelligence officer and participating in actions against the Moros . He was cited for bravery at Lake Lanao . In June 1901 , he served as Commander of Camp Vicars in Lanao , Philippines , after the previous camp commander had been promoted to brigadier general . Rise to general . In June 1903 , Pershing was ordered to return to the United States . President Theodore Roosevelt , taken by Pershing ' s ability , petitioned the Army General Staff to promote Pershing to colonel . At the time , Army officer promotions were based primarily on seniority rather than merit , and although there was widespread acknowledgment that Pershing should serve as a colonel , the Army General Staff declined to change their seniority - based promotion tradition just to accommodate Pershing . They would not consider a promotion to lieutenant colonel or even major . This angered Roosevelt , but since the President could only name and promote army officers in the General ranks , his options for recognizing Pershing through promotion were limited . In 1904 , Pershing was assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Southwest Army Division stationed at Oklahoma City , Oklahoma . In October 1904 , he attended the Army War College , and then was ordered to Washington , D . C . for " general duties unassigned " . Since Theodore Roosevelt could not yet promote Pershing , he petitioned the United States Congress to authorize a diplomatic posting , and Pershing was stationed as military attaché in Tokyo in 1905 . Also in 1905 , Pershing married Helen Frances Warren , the daughter of powerful U . S . Senator Francis E . Warren , a Wyoming Republican and chairman of the U . S . Military Appropriations Committee . This union helped his military career . After serving as an observer in the Russo - Japanese War , Pershing returned to the United States in the fall of 1905 . President Roosevelt employed his presidential prerogative and nominated Pershing as a brigadier general , a move which Congress approved . In skipping three ranks and more than 835 officers senior to him , the promotion gave rise to accusations that Pershing ' s appointment was the result of political connections and not military abilities . However , many other officers supported Pershing and believed that , based on his demonstrated ability to command combat forces , the promotion to general , while unusual , was not unprecedented or out of line . In 1908 , Pershing briefly served as a U . S . military observer in the Balkans , an assignment which was based out of Paris . Upon returning to the United States at the end of 1909 , Pershing was assigned once again to the Philippines , an assignment which he served until 1912 . While in the Philippines , he served as Commander of Fort McKinley , near Manila , and also was the governor of the Moro Province . The last of Pershing ' s four children was born in the Philippines , and during this time he became an Episcopalian . Pancho Villa and Mexico . On December 20 , 1913 , Pershing received orders to take command of the 8th Brigade at the Presidio in San Francisco . With tensions running high on the border between the United States and Mexico , The brigade was deployed to Fort Bliss , Texas on April 24 , 1914 , arriving there on the 27th . After a year at Fort Bliss , Pershing decided to take his family there . The arrangements were almost complete , when on the morning of August 27 , 1915 , he received a telegram telling him of a fire in the Presidio of San Francisco , where a lacquered floor blaze had rapidly spread , resulting in the smoke inhalation deaths of his wife , Helen , and three young daughters . Only his six - year - old son Warren survived . Many who knew Pershing said he never recovered from their deaths . After the funerals at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne , Wyoming , Pershing returned to Fort Bliss with his son , Warren , and his sister May , and resumed his duties as commanding officer . On March 15 , 1916 , Pershing led an expedition into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa . This expedition was ill - equipped and hampered by a lack of supplies due to the breakdown of the Quartermaster Corps . Although there had been talk of war on the border for years , no steps had been taken to provide for the handling of supplies for an expedition . Despite this and other hindrances , such as the lack of aid from the former Mexican government , and their refusal to allow American troops to transport troops and supplies over their railroads , Pershing organized and commanded the Mexican Punitive Expedition , a combined armed force of 10 , 000 men that penetrated into Mexico . They routed Villa ' s revolutionaries and severely wounded Villa himself , but failed to capture him . World War I . At the start of the United States ' involvement in World War I President Woodrow Wilson considered mobilizing an army to join the fight . Frederick Funston , Pershing ' s superior in Mexico , was being considered for the top billet as the Commander of the American Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) when he died suddenly from a heart attack on February 19 , 1917 . Following America ' s entrance into the war , Wilson , after a short interview , named Pershing to command , a post which he retained until 1918 . Pershing , who was a major general , was promoted to full general ( the first since Philip Sheridan in 1888 ) in the National Army , and was made responsible for the organization , training , and supply of a combined professional and draft Army and National Guard force that eventually grew from 27 , 000 inexperienced men to two Armies ( a third was forming as the war ended ) totaling over two million soldiers . Pershing exercised significant control over his command , with a full delegation of authority from Wilson and Secretary of War Newton D . Baker . Baker , cognizant of the endless problems of domestic and allied political involvement in military decision making in wartime , gave Pershing unmatched authority to run his command as he saw fit . In turn , Pershing exercised his prerogative carefully , not engaging in issues that might distract or diminish his command . While earlier a champion of the African - American soldier , he did not champion their full participation on the battlefield , understanding widespread racial attitudes among white Americans generally , plus Wilson ' s reactionary views on race and the political debts he owed to southern Democratic law makers . George Marshall served as one of Pershing ' s top assistants during and after the war . Pershing ' s initial chief of staff was businessman James Harbord , who later took a combat command but worked as Pershing ' s closest assistant for many years and remained extremely loyal to Pershing . After departing from Fort Jay at Governors Island in New York Harbor under top secrecy in May 1917 , Pershing arrived in France in June 1917 . In a show of American presence , part of the 16th Infantry Regiment marched through Paris shortly after his arrival . Pausing at the tomb of Gilbert du Motier , Marquis de Lafayette , he was reputed to have uttered the famous line " Lafayette , we are here , " a line spoken , in fact , by his aide , Colonel Charles E . Stanton . American forces were deployed in France in the autumn of 1917 . Battle of Hamel . For the first time in American history , Pershing allowed American soldiers to be under the command of a foreign power . In late June , General Rawlinson , commanding the British Fourth Army , suggested to Australian Lieutenant General John Monash that American involvement in a set - piece attack alongside the experienced Australians in the upcoming Battle of Hamel would both give the American troops experience and also strengthen the Australian battalions by an additional company each . On June 29 , General Bell , commanding the American 33rd Division , selected two companies each from the 131st and 132nd Infantry regiments of the 66th brigade . However , Monash had been promised ten companies of American troops and on June 30 the remaining companies of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 131st regiment were sent . Each American platoon was attached to an Australian company . However , there was difficulty in integrating the American platoons ( which numbered 60 men ) amongst the Australian companies of 100 men . This difficulty was overcome by reducing the size of each American platoon by one - fifth and sending these troops , which numbered 50 officers and men , back to battalion reinforcement camps . African - American units . Pershing bowed to the racial policies of President Woodrow Wilson , Secretary of War Newton D . Baker , and southern Democrats who promoted the " separate but equal " doctrine . African - American " Buffalo Soldiers " units were not allowed to participate with the American Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) during World War I , but experienced non - commissioned officer s were provided to other segregated black units for combat service — such as the 317th Engineer Battalion . The American Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd and the 93rd Infantry Divisions were the first Americans to fight in France in 1918 , albeit detached from the AEF and under French command . Most regiments of the 92nd and all of the 93rd would continue to fight under French command for the duration of the war . World War I : 1918 and full American participation . In early 1918 , entire divisions were beginning to serve on the front lines alongside French troops . Pershing insisted that the AEF fight as units under American command rather than being split up by battalions to augment British and French regiments and brigades ( although the U . S . 27th and 30th Division s , loaned during the desperate days of spring 1918 , fought with the British / Australian / Canadian Fourth Army until the end of the war , taking part in the breach of the Hindenburg Line in October ) . In October 1918 , Pershing saw the need for a dedicated Military Police Corps and the first US Army MP School was established at Autun , France . For this , he is considered the " founding father " of the MPs . Because of the effects of trench warfare on soldiers ' feet , in January 1918 , Pershing oversaw the creation of an improved combat boot , the " 1918 Trench Boot , " which became known as the " Pershing Boot " upon its introduction . American forces first saw serious action during the summer of 1918 , contributing eight large divisions , alongside 24 French ones , at the Second Battle of the Marne . Along with the British Fourth Army ' s victory at Amiens , the Franco - American victory at the Second Battle of the Marne marked the turning point of the war on the Western Front . In August 1918 the U . S . First Army had been formed , first under Pershing ' s direct command and then by Hunter Liggett , when the U . S . Second Army under Robert Bullard was created . After a quick victory at Saint - Mihiel , east of Verdun , some of the more bullish AEF commanders had hoped to push on eastwards to Metz , but this did not fit in with the plans of the Allied Supreme Commander , Marshal Foch , for three simultaneous offensives into the " bulge " of the Western Front ( the other two being the Fourth Army ' s breach of the Hindenburg Line and an Anglo - Belgian offensive , led by Plumer ' s Second Army , in Flanders ) . Instead , the AEF was required to redeploy and , aided by French tanks , launched a major offensive northwards in very difficult terrain at Meuse - Argonne . Initially enjoying numerical odds of eight to one , this offensive eventually engaged 35 or 40 of the 190 or so German divisions on the Western Front , although to put this in perspective , around half the German divisions were engaged on the British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) sector at the time . The offensive was , however , marked by Pershing ' s failure : his reliance on massed infantry attacks with little artillery support led to high casualty rates in the capturing of three key points . This was despite the AEF facing only second - line German troops after Erich Ludendorff ' s decision to withdraw to the Hindenburg line on October 3 - and in notable contrast to the simultaneous British breakthrough of the Hindenburg Line in the north . Pershing was subsequently forced to reorganize the AEF with the creation of the Second Army , and to step down as the commander of the First Army . When he arrived in Europe , Pershing had openly scorned the slow trench warfare of the previous three years on the Western Front , believing that American soldiers ' skill with the rifle would enable them to avoid costly and senseless fighting over a small area of no man ' s land . This was regarded as unrealistic by British and French generals , and ( privately ) by a number of American generals such as Army Chief of Staff Tasker H . Bliss and his own Hunter Liggett . Even German generals were negative , Ludendorff dismissing Pershing ' s strategic efforts in the Meuse - Argonne offensive by recalling how " the attacks of the youthful American troops broke down with the heaviest losses " . The AEF had done well in the relatively open warfare of the Second Battle of the Marne , but the eventual U . S . casualty rates against German defensive positions in the Argonne ( 120 , 000 U . S . casualties in six weeks , against 35 or 40 German divisions ) were not noticeably better than those of the Franco - British offensive on the Somme two years earlier ( 600 , 000 casualties in four and a half months , versus 50 or so German divisions ) . More ground was gained , but then the German Army was in worse shape than in previous years . Some writers have speculated that Pershing ' s frustration at the slow progress through the Argonne was the cause of two incidents which then ensued . First , he ordered the U . S . First Army to take " the honor " of recapturing Sedan , site of the French defeat in 1870 ; the ensuing confusion ( an order was issued that " boundaries were not to be considered binding " ) exposed U . S . troops to danger not only from the French on their left , but even from one another , as the 1st Division tacked westward by night across the path of the 42nd ( accounts differ as to whether Douglas MacArthur was really mistaken for a German officer and arrested ) . Liggett , who had been away from headquarters the previous day , had to sort out the mess and implement the instructions from Supreme Commander Marshal Foch , allowing the French to recapture the city ; he later recorded that this was the only time during the war in which he lost his temper . Second , Pershing sent an unsolicited letter to the Allied Supreme War Council , demanding that the Germans not be given an armistice and that instead , the Allies should push on and obtain an unconditional surrender . Although in later years , many , including President Franklin D . Roosevelt , felt that Pershing had been correct , at the time , this was a breach of political authority . Pershing narrowly escaped a serious reprimand from Wilson ' s aide , Colonel House , and later apologized . At the time of the Armistice , another U . S . - French offensive was due to start on November 14 , thrusting towards Metz and into Lorraine , to take place simultaneously with further BEF advances through Belgium . In his memoirs , Pershing claimed that the U . S . breakout from the Argonne at the start of November was the decisive event leading to the German acceptance of an armistice , because it made untenable the Antwerp - Meuse line . This is probably an exaggeration ; the outbreak of civil unrest and naval mutiny in Germany , the collapse of Bulgaria , Turkey , and particularly Austria - Hungary following Allied victories in Salonika , Syria , and Italy , and the Allied victories on the Western Front were among a series of events in the autumn of 1918 which made it clear that Allied victory was inevitable , and diplomatic inquiries about an armistice had been going on throughout October . President Wilson was keen to tie matters up before the mid - term elections , and the other Allies did not have the strength to defeat Germany without U . S . help , so had little choice but to follow Wilson ' s lead . American successes were largely credited to Pershing , and he became the most celebrated American leader of the war . Critics , however , claimed that Pershing commanded from far behind the lines and was critical of commanders who personally led troops into battle . Douglas MacArthur saw Pershing as a desk soldier , and the relationship between the two men deteriorated by the end of the war . Similar criticism of senior commanders by the younger generation of officers ( the future generals of World War II ) was made in the British and other armies , but in fairness to Pershing , although it was not uncommon for brigade commanders to serve near the front and even be killed , the state of communications in World War I made it more practical for senior generals to command from the rear . He controversially ordered his troops to continue fighting after the armistice was signed . This resulted in 3 , 500 U . S . casualties on the last day of the war , an act which was regarded as murder by several officers under his command . 1918 also saw a personal health struggle for Pershing as he was sickened during the 1918 flu pandemic , but unlike many who were not so fortunate , Pershing survived . Later career . In 1919 , in recognition of his distinguished service during World War I , the U . S . Congress authorized the President to promote Pershing to General of the Armies of the United States , the highest rank possible for any member of the United States armed forces , which was created especially for him and one that only he held at the time ( General George Washington was posthumously promoted to this rank by President Gerald Ford in 1976 ) . Pershing was authorized to create his insignia for the new rank and chose to wear four gold stars for the rest of his career , which separated him from the four ( temporary ) silver stars worn by Army Chiefs of Staff , and even the five star General of the Army insignia worn by Marshall , MacArthur , Bradley , Eisenhower , and H . ' Hap ' Arnold in World War II ( Pershing outranked them all ) . There was a movement to make Pershing President of the United States in 1920 , but he refused to actively campaign . In a newspaper article , he said that he " wouldn ' t decline to serve " if the people wanted him , and this made front page headlines . Though Pershing was a Republican , many of his party ' s leaders considered him too closely tied to the policies of the Democratic Party ' s President Wilson . The Republican nomination went to Senator Warren G . Harding of Ohio , who won the 1920 presidential election . In 1921 , Pershing became Chief of Staff of the United States Army , serving for three years . He created the Pershing Map , a proposed national network of military and civilian highways . The Interstate Highway System instituted in 1956 bears considerable resemblance to the Pershing map . On his 64th birthday , September 13 , 1924 , Pershing retired from active military service . ( Army regulations from the late 1860s to the early 1940s required officers to retire on their 64th birthday . ) On November 1 , 1921 , Pershing was in Kansas City to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Liberty Memorial that was being constructed there . Also present that day were Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of Belgium , Admiral David Beatty of Great Britain , Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France , and General Armando Diaz of Italy . One of the main speakers was Vice President Calvin Coolidge . In 1935 , bas - reliefs of Pershing , Jacques , Foch and Diaz by sculptor Walker Hancock were added to the memorial . Pershing also laid the cornerstone of the World War Memorial in Indianapolis on July 4 , 1927 . On October 2 , 1922 , amidst several hundred officers , many of them combat veterans of World War I , Pershing formally established the Reserve Officers Association ( ROA ) as an organization at the Willard Hotel in Washington , D . C . ROA is a 75 , 000 - member , professional association of officers , former officers , and spouses of all the uniformed services of the United States , primarily the Reserve and United States National Guard . It is a congressionally chartered Association that advises the Congress and the President on issues of national security on behalf of all members of the Reserve Component . In 1924 Pershing became a member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the American Revolution . He was also an honorary member of the Society of the Cincinnati and a Veteran Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars . Pershing served on a committee of the Sons of the American Revolution to establish and recognize Constitution Day in the United States . During the 1930s , Pershing maintained a private life but was made famous by his memoirs , " My Experiences in the World War " , which were awarded the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for history . He was also an active Civitan during this time . In 1940 , before and after the Fall of France , Pershing was an outspoken advocate of aid for the United Kingdom during World War II . In August 1940 , he publicly supported the " Destroyers for Bases Agreement " , whereby the United States sold fifty warships from World War I to the UK in exchange for lengthy leases of land on British possessions for the establishment for military bases . In 1944 , with Congress ' re - creation of the five star rank of General of the Armies , Pershing became the highest - ranking officer of the United States military . In July 1944 , Pershing was visited by Free French leader General Charles de Gaulle . When Pershing , by then semi - senile , asked after the health of his old friend , Marshal Philippe Pétain ( who was heading the pro - German Vichy regime ) , de Gaulle replied tactfully that , when he last saw him , the Marshal was well . Death . On July 15 , 1948 , Pershing died of coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure at the Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington , D . C . , which was his home after 1944 . He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery , near the grave sites of the soldiers he commanded in Europe , after a state funeral . Family . It was during his initial assignment in the American West that his mother died . On March 16 , 1906 , Pershing ' s father died . Colonel Francis Warren Pershing ( 1909 – 1980 ) , John J . Pershing ' s son , served in the Second World War as an advisor to the Army Chief of Staff , General George C . Marshall . After the War he continued with his financial career and founded a stock brokerage firm ( Pershing & Company ) . He was father to two sons , Richard W . Pershing ( 1942 – 1968 ) and John Warren Pershing III ( 1941 – 1999 ) . Richard Pershing served as a 2nd Lieutenant ( O1 ) in the 502nd Infantry and was killed in action on February 17 , 1968 , in Vietnam . John Pershing III served as a special assistant to former Army Chief of Staff General Gordon R . Sullivan , also attaining the rank of Colonel ( O6 ) . He helped shape Army and Army ROTC programs nationwide . Col . Pershing died of cardiovascular disease in 1999 . Summary of service . Honors and awards . United States decorations and medals . In 1932 , seven years after Pershing ' s retirement from active service , his silver citation star was upgraded to the Silver Star decoration and he became eligible for the Purple Heart . In 1941 , he was retroactively awarded the Army of Occupation of Germany Medal for service in Germany following the close of World War I . As the Army of Occupation of Germany Medal has a profile of Pershing on its obverse this made Pershing the only soldier in the history of the U . S . Army eligible to wear a service medal with his own likeness on it . ( Navy admirals George Dewey , William T . Sampson and Richard E . Byrd were also entitled to wear medals with their own image on them . ) References . Notes Bibliography Further reading