Just out of interest, since this was FDR handing out stars like they were so many post offices, how many Flag Officers besides Ernest King got a fifth star?
Did Nimitz get one?
Best,
Chris
William Leahy
Ernest King
Chester Nimitz
William Halsey
The Navy’s Fleet Admirals were:
William Daniel Leahy
Ernest Joseph King
Chester William Nimitz
William Frederick Halsey, Jr.
(This information is extracted from the Naval Historical Foundation’s booklet Fleet Admirals, U.S. Navy.)
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq36-1.htm
FDR wanted those promotions so that the American commanders would have rank equal to their British counterparts, in order to prevent a character like Montgomery from refusing to obey someone like Eisenhower.