General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing was born on September 13, 1860, in Laclede, Missouri.  Pershing experienced a legendary career in the armed services.  He was promoted to General of the Armies, the highest rank of the U.S. Army, and served as mentor to a number of soldiers who later became America's leaders on the battlefield during World War II, including Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, and Douglas MacArthur.  
 
     Pershing attended elementary school in Laclede and graduated from the local high school in 1878.  After graduation, he attended the North Missouri Normal School, which is today Truman State University, for two years.  He then decided to transfer to West Point Military Academy after learning of the school's outstanding academic reputation. 

     Upon completing West Point, Pershing reported for active duty in 1886 as a Second Lieutenant.  His first assignment involved action against various Native American tribes, including Apaches in the Southwest and Sioux in the Great Plains.  Pershing was then stationed as an instructor of military tactics at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska.

     Pershing served next in Cuba and the Philippines during the Spanish-American War and then as an observer in the Russo-Japanese War.  Eventually, Pershing was assigned to hunt the Mexican revolutionist Pancho Villa along the southern border of the United States.  Next, at the climax of his career, Pershing was appointed Commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe, where he oversaw American involvement in World War I until the conclusion of the war.

     Pershing was awarded the newly-created rank of General of the Armies in 1919, and, although he did not actively seek the nomination, he was considered as a candidate for President of the United States in 1920.  Pershing remained active in state affairs, serving as the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army and ultimately founding the Reserve Officers Association (ROA) in 1922.  Largely retiring to private life in the 1930s, Pershing was awarded the 1932 Pulitzer Prize in history for his memoirs My Experiences in the World War.  Pershing spent his last years of life in Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he died in 1948.