New 8x10 World War I Photo: U.S. General John J. Pershing Title - U.S. General John J. Pershing Description - General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 - July 15, 1948) was a general in the United States Army. 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 (a retroactive Congressional edict passed in 1976 declared that George Washington has never been nor will ever be outranked). Pershing also holds the first United States officer service number (O-1). Pershing led the American Expeditionary Force in World War I and 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. Description Source - Library of Congress Year - Unknown SKU - WWO-0018