Who is your greatest 5 Star General/Admiral or above of all time in the United States of America military and why?

If I had to chose, it has to be General George Washington. As the first General of the Army during the Revolutionary War, he set the standard for all military leaders. He led one of the most poorly trained and supported military forces in history to victory over a far superior adversary. His accomplishments are legendary. He created the first and inarguably one of the most capable military intelligence organizations this nation has ever produced. General Washington's tactical prowess during the Revolutionary War, specifically at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, restored Colonial resolve and revitalized the morale of the Continental Army. There could not have been a United States of America without him.

General John J. Pershing is my vote. He brought the Allied Armies together at a critical time during World War One. And he did not stop after the war. He was a key mentor for future Generals Patton, Eisenhower, Bradley, and Marshall. That's more than MacArthur did, and remember, he got canned by President Truman for pushing against China. 

<p>It would have to be Washington. He faced off against the superpower of the time with almost nothing in the way of forces. And won.</p><p>MacArthur, for all his strong leadership early in his career, was out of his depth by the time WWII started. He had several hours of warning that a Japanese fleet was on the way to the Philippines, and did nothing. His air fleet, at the time the largest in the world, was destroyed on the ground in tight little clumps. He gambled the lives of multiple divisions of American troops in Korea on the Chinese not entering the war. And lost that bet, costing tens of thousands of lives. Finally, he was so insubordinate toward President Truman that he was relieved for cause. Those are not the actions of a great American General.</p>