The class the stars fell on

Members of the West Point class of 1915

"The class the stars fell on" is an expression used to describe the class of 1915 at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.[1] In the United States Army, the insignia reserved for generals is one or more stars. Of the 164 graduates that year, 59 (36%) attained the rank of general, more than any other class in the history of the academy, hence the expression.[2]

Two graduates reached the rank of five-star General of the Army, two were four-star generals, seven three-star lieutenant generals, 24 two-star major generals, and 24 one-star brigadier generals.[1][3] Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the five-star generals, went on to become the 34th President of the United States. The other, Omar Bradley, became the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under Presidents Harry S. Truman and Eisenhower.[2]

The term had previously been applied to the class of 1886, which produced a large number of general officers for World War I. Of this class, which includes John J. Pershing, Charles T. Menoher, and Mason Patrick, 25 out of 77 (32%) became generals.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b "The Class the Stars Fell On". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  2. ^ a b "West Point Fact Sheet". United States Military Academy. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Did You Know?". United States Military Academy. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  4. ^ Cullum 1920, pp. 410–451.
  5. ^ Davis 1998, p. 69.