The commander of the US 9th Army in the Second World War, William Hood Simpson was very popular with his men, fellow officers and allies, gaining accolades from such men as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery.

“Bull” Halsey was the famously aggressive commander of the US Third Fleet during the Second World War. An early proponent of the value of naval air power, he would command carriers when the war began, and would be present for the signing of the Japanese surrender in 1945.

The US Admiral known for his command during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had reached his position as Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet after a long career, including service in the Mexican intervention of 1914 and the First World War. Many would consider him to be a scapegoat for the attack in 1941, which cost him his command and ended his naval career.

Commander of the American Expeditionary Force in the First World War as well as the leader of the punitive expedition into Mexico against Pancho Villa, “Black Jack” Pershing famously refused to allow American troops to be used as replacements in Allied armies, insisting that they remained as their own force.

On of the first American heroes of the Second World War, “Dorie” Miller was a mess steward who took one of the anti-aircraft guns of the USS West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor, his actions making him the first black sailor to receive the Navy Cross.