List of United States generals and admirals in World War II
From December 7, 1941, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor , to September 2, 1945, the day the Japanese surrender was signed, approx. 1,400 US officers were promoted to Brigadier General (1 star) and approx. 500 to major General (2 stars), 57 to Lieutenant General (3 stars), 13 to General (4 stars), 4 to General of the Army (5 stars) and 3 to Fleet Admiral (5 stars):
Brigadier General / Commodore
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| Date of promotion | Surname | Life dates | Armed forces | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 17, 1941 | Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. | 1887-1944 | United States | Commander of the US 26th Infantry Regiment, US 1st Infantry Division ; assistant division commander of the 4th US Infantry Division , son of the 26th US President Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| November 1, 1942 | Haydon L. Boatner | 1900-1977 | United States | Chief of Staff China, India, Burma war theater |
| December 25, 1942 | La Verne G. Saunders | 1903-1988 | USAAF | Commanding General of VII Bomber Command and Chief of Staff of the Seventh Air Force |
| May 19, 1944 | John E. McCammon | ? | United States | ? |
| January 20, 1945 | Elliott Roosevelt | 1910-1990 | USAAF | Bombardier (crew member of a bomber) |
Major General / Rear Admiral
(List still incomplete)
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| Date of promotion | Surname | Life dates | Armed forces | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1942 | Clarence L. Tinker | 1887-1942 | USAAF | Brigadier General October 1, 1940; Commanding General of the Seventh Air Force |
| May 1942 | Norman Scott | 1889-1942 | USN | Commander of the flagship in the sea battle of Guadalcanal and killed during it |
| May 15, 1942 | Carleton H. Wright | 1892-1973 | USN | Task Force 67 Commander |
| June 21, 1942 | Charles W. Ryder | 1892-1960 | United States | Commanding general of the 34th Infantry Division and IX Corps |
| June 1942 | John W. Reeves | ? | USN | Commander of the USS Wasp (CV-7) , from March 1944 Commander of Carrier Division Four |
| August 9, 1942 | Manton S. Eddy | 1892-1962 | United States | Commanding General 9th US Infantry Division , from August 1944 Commander of the XII. US Corps |
| August 7, 1942 | Daniel J. Callaghan | 1890-1942 | USN | 1941 Commander of USS San Francisco (CA-38) , later Commander of Task Group 67.4 in the Battle of Guadalcanal and killed in the process |
| September 8, 1942 | Henry S. Aurand | 1894-1980 | United States | Commanding General 6th U.S. Support Command |
| October 1942 | Julian C. Smith | 1885-1975 | USMC | Commanding general of the U.S. 2nd Marine Division |
| February 1943 | Calvin T. Durgin | 1893-1965 | USN | Commander of Task Group 77.4 off Iwo Jima and Okinawa, post-war director of the Board of Inspection and Survey |
| March 10, 1943 | Claire Lee Chennault | 1890-1958 | USAAF | Commanding General, Fourteenth Air Force |
| March 12, 1943 | Clarence R. Huebner | 1888-1972 | United States | Commander of the US Army Infantry Replacement Center ; later commander of the 1st Infantry Division and commanding general of the V Corps |
| March 13, 1943 | Clayton L. Bissell | 1896-1972 | USAAF | Assistant Chief of Staff for intelligence under Henry H. Arnold |
| July 1943 | Arthur W. Radford | 1896-1973 | USN | Commander of Carrier Division 11; post-war chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| August 22, 1943 | Henry M. Mullinnix | 1892-1943 | USN | Task Group 52.3, while the commander battle for the Gilbert Islands with the USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) perished |
| November 1, 1943 | Arthur D. Struble | 1894-1963 | USN | ? |
| November 1943 | Forrest P. Sherman | 1896-1951 | USN | deputy chief of staff of the commander of the US Pacific Fleet , Chester W. Nimitz ; after the war Chief of Naval Operations |
| December 26, 1943 | William H. Rupertus | 1889-1945 | USMC | Commanding general of the 1st Marine Division |
| January 31, 1944 | Joseph J. Clark | 1893-1971 | USN | Commander of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) , later commander of Task Force 58 |
| January 1944 | William M. Fechteler | 1896-1967 | USN | Commander of USS Indiana (BB-58) , later commander of Amphibious Group 8 of the Seventh Fleet; after the war Chief of Naval Operations |
| February 22, 1944 | Emmet O'Donnel | 1906-1972 | USAAF | Commanding General of the 73d Bomb Wing u. a. during the first attacks on Tokyo on November 24, 1944 |
| March 1944 | Hoyt S. Vandenberg | 1899-1954 | USAAF | Deputy Commander (Air) of the Allied Expeditionary Force and its US component; from August 1944 Commanding General of the Ninth Air Force ; after the war Chief of Staff of the Air Force |
| March 31, 1944 | Maxwell D. Taylor | 1901-1987 | United States | Brigadier General December 4, 1942; Commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division , post-war Chief of Staff of the Army and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| April 28, 1944 | Elwood R. Quesada | 1904-1993 | United States | Commanding general of IX Tactical Air Command |
| May 22, 1944 | Archibald V. Arnold | 1889-1973 | United States | Commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division |
| May 22, 1944 | John W. O'Daniel | 1894-1975 | United States | Commanding general of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division |
| 1944 | William HP Blandy | 1890-1954 | USN | ? |
| May / June 1944 | Felix B. Stump | 1894-1972 | USN | ?; post-war commander of the US Pacific Fleet and US Pacific Command |
| June 1944 | John E. Wilkes | 1895-1957 | USN | Commander of the US naval facilities in France |
| June / July 1944 | Clifton Sprague | 1896-1955 | USN | Commander of the Carrier Division 25 |
| June / July 1944 | Thomas L. Sprague | 1894-1972 | USN | Commander of Carrier Division 3 in Okinawa |
| August 1944 | Maurice Rose | 1899-1945 | United States | Commanding general of the 3rd US Armored Division |
| September 5, 1944 | Frank D. Merrill | 1903-1955 | United States | Commander of the Merrill's Marauders special unit in the Burma campaign |
| November 8, 1944 | Kenneth B. Wolfe | 1896-1971 | USAAF | Commanding general of the US 20th Bomber Command and later the Fifth Air Force |
| William J. Donovan | 1883-1959 | United States | Coordinator of Information ; from 1942 head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency | |
| November 12, 1944 | William H. Arnold | 1901-1976 | United States | Commanding General of the Americal Division |
| November 15, 1944 | James A. Van Fleet | 1892-1992 | United States | Brigadier General 1944; Commanding general of the US 90th Infantry Division and III Corps |
| November 1944 | Jerauld Wright | 1898-1995 | USN | Amphibious Group 5 commander ; after the war commander of the US Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean |
| March 22, 1945 | Lewis A. Pick | 1890-1956 | United States | Chief Road Engineer in the Burma campaign; after the war Chief of Engineers of the US Army Corps of Engineers |
| June 4, 1945 | Lauris Norstad | 1907-1988 | USAAF | Commanding General of Twentieth Air Force and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Staff ; after the war, Supreme Allied Commander Europe |
| Frank W. Milburn | 1862-1962 | United States | Commanding general of the XXI Corps | |
Lieutenant General / Vice Admiral
(List still incomplete)
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| Date of promotion | Surname | Life dates | Armed forces | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 5, 1939 | John Lesesne DeWitt | 1880-1962 | United States | Commander of the Western Defense Command |
| February 8, 1941 | Walter C. Short | 1880-1949 | United States | Commander of the Hawaii Land Forces during the attack on Pearl Harbor |
| July 9, 1941 | Lesley J. McNair | 1883-1944 | United States | Commanding General of the US Army Ground Forces ; senior US officer killed in World War II |
| September 19, 1941 | Frank M. Andrews | 1884-1943 | USAAF | Commanding general of the Caribbean Defense Command , the forerunner of the US Pacific Command |
| September 26, 1941 | Malin Craig | 1875-1945 | United States | Chief of Staff of the Army and General from 1935 to August 31, 1939, then retired, reactivated as Lieutenant General on September 26, 1941 and posthumously promoted to General after his death on July 26, 1945 |
| January 5, 1942 | George H. Brett | 1886-1963 | USAAF | Commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Western Pacific |
| June 26, 1942 | Frank Jack Fletcher | 1885-1973 | USN | Commander North Pacific |
| October 15, 1942 | Robert L. Eichelberger | 1886-1961 | United States | Commanding general of the I Corps |
| November 1942 | Lloyd R. Fredendall | 1883-1963 | United States | Commander of the Central Task Force during Operation Torch ; Commanding general of the XI Corps and later the 2nd US Army |
| May 4, 1943 | Simon B. Buckner, Jr. | 1886-1945 | United States | Commanding General of US 10th Army ; senior field commander killed in World War II |
| July 1943 | John S. McCain, Sr. | 1884-1945 | USN | Commander under William F. Halsey in the Pacific War |
| September 13, 1943 | Ira C. Eaker | 1896-1987 | USAAF | Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force |
| October 13, 1943 | William H. Simpson | 1888-1980 | United States | Commanding general of the US 9th Army |
| February 14, 1944 | Walter Bedell Smith | 1895-1961 | United States | Chief of Staff Dwight D. Eisenhowers |
| February 20, 1944 | Richard K. Sutherland | 1893-1966 | United States | Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthurs |
| February 21, 1944 | Raymond A. Wheeler | 1885-1974 | United States | Deputy Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia under Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma ; after the war Chief of Engineers of the US Army Corps of Engineers |
| March 13, 1944 | James H. Doolittle | 1896-1993 | USAAF | Commanding General, Eighth Air Force ; Doolittle Raid |
| March 15, 1944 | Holland M. Smith | 1882-1967 | USMC | Commanding General Fleet Marine Force Pacific |
| March 21, 1944 | Marc A. Mitscher | 1887-1947 | USN | Commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force |
| April 28, 1944 | Lewis H. Brereton | 1890-1967 | USAAF | Commanding general of the Ninth Air Force and the 1st Allied Airborne Army |
| April 28, 1944 | Barney M. Giles | 1892-1984 | USAAF | Commanding general of the Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean Area |
| August 18, 1944 | Alexander M. Patch | 1889-1945 | United States | Commanding general of the 7th US Army |
| September 2, 1944 | Daniel I. Sultan | 1885-1947 | United States | Chief of Staff Joseph W. Stilwells ; from October 27, 1944 commanding general of the US troops in the Burma campaign |
| September 2, 1944 | Lucian K. Truscott | 1895-1965 | United States | Commanding general of the 5th US Army |
| September 15, 1944 | Theodore S. Wilkinson | 1888-1946 | USN | Commander of the 3rd Amphibious Force |
| November 7, 1944 | Wilhelm D. Styer | 1893-1975 | United States | Member of the Military Policy Committee ( Manhattan Project ) |
| December 7, 1944 | Jesse B. Oldendorf | 1887-1974 | USN | Commander of the 1st battleship squadron |
| December 9, 1944 | Daniel E. Barbey | 1889-1969 | USN | Commander of the 7th Amphibious Force |
| January 1, 1945 | Albert C. Wedemeyer | 1897-1989 | United States | Commanding general of the Chinese theater of war |
| January 1, 1945 | Leonard T. Gerow | 1888-1972 | United States | Commander-in-Chief of the US 15th Army |
| March 17, 1945 | Harold L. George | 1893-1986 | USAAF | Commander in Chief of Air Transport Command |
| March 17, 1945 | John K. Cannon | 1895-1955 | USAAF | Commanding General Mediterranean Allied Air Force |
| April 14, 1945 | Oscar W. Griswold | 1886-1959 | United States | Commanding general of the XIV Corps |
| April 15, 1945 | Walton H. Walker | 1889-1950 | United States | Commanding general of the 3rd Armored Division and later of the XX Corps |
| April 15, 1945 | J. Lawton Collins | 1896-1987 | United States | Commanding general of the VII Corps |
| April 15, 1945 | Wade H. Haislip | 1889-1971 | United States | Commanding General of the XV Corps |
| April 15, 1945 | Levin H. Campbell, Jr. | 1886-1976 | United States | Chief of Ordnance |
| April 15, 1945 | Eugene Reybold | 1884-1961 | United States | Chief of Engineers |
| April 17, 1945 | Lucius D. Clay | 1898-1988 | United States | Deputy Military Governor in Germany |
| April 17, 1945 | Geoffrey Keyes | 1888-1967 | United States | Commanding general of the II Corps |
| May 28, 1945 | George E. Stratemeyer | 1890-1969 | USAAF | Commander of air operations in China |
| June 3, 1945 | Willis D. Crittenberger | 1890-1980 | United States | Commanding General IV Corps |
| June 3, 1945 | Alvan C. Gillem, Jr. | 1890-1954 | United States | Commanding General XIII Corps |
| June 4, 1945 | Matthew B. Ridgway | 1895-1993 | United States | Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps ; after the war, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and then Chief of Staff of the Army |
| June 4, 1945 | Charles P. Hall | 1886-1953 | United States | Commanding General XI Corps |
| June 5, 1945 | Ennis C. Whitehead | 1895-1964 | USAAF | Commanding General of the Fifth Air Force |
| June 5, 1945 | Troy H. Middleton | 1889-1976 | United States | Commanding general of the VIII Corps |
| June 5, 1945 | Nathan F. Twining | 1897-1982 | USAAF | Commanding General, Twentieth Air Force ; after the war Chief of Staff of the Air Force and later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| June 5, 1945 | LeRoy Lutes | 1890-1980 | United States | Chief of Staff and Deputy Commanding General, Army Service Forces |
| June 6, 1945 | John R. Hodge | 1893-1963 | United States | Commanding General XXIV Corps |
| June 6, 1945 | John E. Hull | 1895-1975 | United States | Operations Division Director |
| July 13, 1945 | Frederick C. Sherman | 1888-1957 | USN | Commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force ; after the war commander of the US 5th Fleet |
General / Admiral
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| Date of promotion | Surname | Life dates | Armed forces | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1, 1942 | Royal E. Ingersoll | 1883-1976 | USN | Commander-in-Chief, US Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANT; 1941-1944); Deputy Commander-in-Chief, US Fleet and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (DCOMINCH-DCNO; 1944–1945) |
| August 1, 1942 | Claude C. Bloch | 1878-1967 | USN | Commander 14th Naval District Hawaii |
| February 4, 1944 | Raymond A. Spruance | 1886-1969 | USN | Commander of the 5th US Fleet |
| August 1, 1944 | Joseph Stilwell | 1883-1946 | United States | Commander in Chief of US Forces in China, Burma and India; Commanding general of the 10th US Army |
| November 15, 1944 | Jonas H. Ingram | 1886-1952 | USN | Commander-in-Chief, US Atlantic Fleet (1944-1946) |
| December 15, 1944 | Frederick J. Horne | 1880-1959 | USN | Vice Chief of Naval Operations (1942-1945) |
| March 5, 1945 | Walter Krueger | 1881-1967 | United States | Commanding general of the US 6th Army in the Pacific War |
| March 6, 1945 | Brehon B. Somervell | 1892-1955 | United States | Commanding general of the US Army Service Forces |
| March 7, 1945 | Joseph T. McNarney | 1893-1972 | United States | Commanding General of US Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations ; after the war, military governor in the US zone of occupation |
| March 8, 1945 | Jacob L. Devers | 1887-1979 | United States | Commanding General of the 6th Army Group |
| March 9, 1945 | George C. Kenney | 1889-1977 | USAAF | Commanding general of the Fifth Air Force and Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific under Douglas MacArthur |
| March 10, 1945 | Mark W. Clark | 1896-1984 | United States | Commanding general of the 5th US Army |
| March 11, 1945 | Carl A. Spaatz | 1891-1974 | USAAF | Commanding General of the US Strategic Air Forces in Europe and later the US Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific ; after the war first Chief of Staff of the Air Force |
| March 12, 1945 | Omar N. Bradley | 1893-1981 | United States | Commanding General of US 12th Army Group ; after the war Chief of Staff of the Army and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| March 13, 1945 | Thomas T. Cell phone | 1892-1982 | United States | Assistant Chief of Staff in the US Department of War |
| April 3, 1945 | H. Kent Hewitt | 1887-1972 | USN | Commander of the amphibious forces of the US Atlantic Fleet |
| April 3, 1945 | Thomas C. Kinkaid | 1888-1972 | USN | Commander of the 7th US Fleet |
| April 4, 1945 (valid from March 21, 1945) |
Alexander A. Vandegrift | 1887-1973 | USMC | Commanding general of the 1st Marine Division and Commandant of the Marine Corps |
| April 14, 1945 | George S. Patton | 1885-1945 | United States | Commanding general of the 3rd US Army |
| April 15, 1945 | Courtney Hicks Hodges | 1887-1966 | United States | Commanding general of the 1st US Army |
| May 24, 1945 | Richmond K. Turner | 1885-1961 | USN | Commander 5th Amphibious Forces in the Pacific War |
| September 5, 1945 | Jonathan M. Wainwright | 1883-1953 | United States | Commander of US Forces in the Philippines under Douglas MacArthur; Promoted aboard USS Missouri (BB-63) three days after the Japanese surrender |
General of the Army / Fleet Admiral
| General of the Army / Fleet Admiral | ||||
| Date of promotion | Surname | Life dates | Armed forces | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 15, 1944 (valid from November 15) |
William D. Leahy | 1875-1959 | USN | Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy (Forerunner of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ) |
| December 16, 1944 | George C. Marshall | 1880-1959 | United States | Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) |
| December 17, 1944 | Ernest J. King | 1878-1956 | USN | Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) |
| December 18, 1944 | Douglas MacArthur | 1880-1964 | United States | Supreme Allied Commander in the South West Pacific Area (SACSWPA) |
| December 19, 1944 | Chester W. Nimitz | 1885-1966 | USN | Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA) and Commander-in-Chief, US Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) |
| December 20, 1944 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1890-1969 | United States | Supreme Allied Commander Europe |
| December 21, 1944 | Henry H. Arnold | 1886-1950 | USAAF | Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army (Air) or Chief of Staff of the Army Air Forces ; Converted to General of the Air Force in 1949 |
The date difference of one day each served to ensure a clear order of precedence ( seniority ) based on seniority . In addition, an admiral and a general were alternately appointed so as not to disadvantage either of the two branches of the US Army and US Navy (independent air forces have only existed since 1947).