National Air and Space Museum Archives

Henry "Hap" Arnold Five Star General Illuminated Certificate

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.2006.0032
Creators:
United States. Air Force
Dates:
bulk 1949
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.1 Cubic feet
(1 folder)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This is the twenty by fourteen inch illuminated certificate that was presented to General Arnold at his award ceremony when he became the first and only five star general of the Air Force on May 7, 1949.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
In December of 1944, the new five star officer rank was created, allowing generals and admirals to place a total of five stars on their uniforms and flags. In all, four Army generals, four Navy admirals and one Air Force general have held this rank. General Henry "Hap" Arnold was actually awarded this rank twice. In 1944, he received his fifth star while the air force was still part of the Army, known as the US Army Air Corps. After the Air Force separated from the Army, Arnold became the new service's only five star general on May 7, 1949.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
NASM Aeronautics Division, Transfer, 2006

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access.
Preferred Citation
Henry "Hap" Arnold Five Star General Illuminated Certificate, Accession number 2006-0032, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Aeronautics, Military Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Certificates Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arnold, Henry Harley, 1886-1950 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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