JOHN J. "BLACK JACK" PERSHING, 1860-1949

The military career of General Pershing was one of the most outstanding in American history. As a professor of military science and tactics at the University of Nebraska, 1891-95, he founded the Pershing Rifles. He later served in the Indian Wars, Cuba, the Philippines, on the Mexican border, and commanded the American Expeditionary Forces in France, 1917-19. Many American generals during World War II regarded him as a mentor. Pershing's famous nickname was derived from his former command of Tenth Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers" on the frontier.