FIVE-STAR OFFICERS -- GENERALS AND ADMIRALS

The five-star rank was first created on Dec. 14, 1944. Four Army general officers were promoted to general of the Army that month. Their names and dates of rank are: George C. Marshall, Dec. 16, 1944; Douglas MacArthur, Dec. 18, 1944; Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dec. 20, 1944; and Henry H. Arnold, Dec. 21, 1944. Gen. of the Army Henry H. Arnold, then with the U.S. Army Air Corps, became general of the Air Force when that service was created in 1947. Gen. of the Army Omar N. Bradley received his fifth star Sept. 20, 1950. He was the only general officer with this rank when he died in the 1980s.
There were three Navy admirals promoted to five-star rank during World War II. They are: Fleet Adm. William D. Leahy, Dec. 15, 1944; Fleet Adm. Ernest J. King, Dec. 17, 1944; and Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, Dec. 19, 1944. Adm. William F. Halsey Jr., received his fifth star Dec. 11, 1945, three months after World War II ended. Thus a total of nine men in America's history ever attained this elevated rank.

GENERAL OF THE ARMY:
The original title for the grade was to have been Field Marshal (after the British title) but the Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, refused to be known as "Field Marshal Marshall!"

General of the Armies:
In the United States Army military hierarchy, General of the Armies is traditionally considered a rank superior to a five-star general, also known as "General of the Army" (note the difference between the two ranks). The full title of the military rank is "General of the Armies of the United states." The only people in history to hold the title General of the Armies were John J. Pershing and George Washington.

Reference sites:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/General-of-the-Armies
http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20020308.html
http://company.military-historians.org/journal/five-star/fivestar.htm
http://www.mdw.army.mil/fs-p10.htm