00:00 There is a rank above five-star general in the United States military that has only been awarded to two individuals.

01:44 The upper ranks of the American military have changed over time, with the highest rank ever obtained by George Washington being that of Lieutenant General, and the first person to hold the rank of General of the Army being Ulysses S. Grant.

03:24 The rank of General of the Army, held by Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Philip Sheridan in the 19th century, was changed to two silver stars with an American Eagle between them by Sherman, and after the death of Sheridan in 1888, there were no more generals higher than the rank of Major General until the start of World War I, when the United States created general ranks above two stars, which is the system still used today.

05:03 During World War II, a new rank called general was created to address the issue of the United States having lower-ranking commanders than their Allied counterparts, and the rank of general of the army was revived with five stars as the highest rank.

06:44 The rank of general of the army was revived in 1950 for Omar Bradley, but since then no one has been advanced to the rank, despite attempts in the 1990s to promote four-star generals Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell during the Gulf War.

08:12 In 1919, Congress created the rank of General of the Armies of the United States, which was given to four-star general John Pershing and is considered higher in grade than the five-star rank of General of the Army.

09:55 The idea of promoting MacArthur to the rank of General of the Armies with a six-star insignia was considered but ultimately dropped due to lack of necessity, and subsequent movements for his promotion after his death were also unsuccessful.