Commanding General of the A.E.F. - American Expeditionary Forces

Enroute to France:
Embarked 28 May 1918. Enroute to USA: S.S. Leviathan, sailed Brest. 1 Sept 1919,

Biography:

https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/p/pershing/

John J. Pershing was one of America’s most accomplished generals. He is most famous for serving as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. These troops from America bolstered the spirits of European allies and helped defeat the Central Powers in 1918. Congress promoted Pershing to the rank of “General of the Armies of the United States” in 1919. He and George Washington are the only two people who have received this honor.

https://www.army.mil/article/49291/pershings_decision_how_the_united_states_fought_its_first_modern_coalition_war

From article linked above:

Wilson . . . gave Pershing a written order before his departure for Europe forbidding him from amalgamating American forces. Pershing stubbornly held to his position that American forces would only fight under a completely American chain of command on a distinctly American section of the western front. At one point, he even told French Premier Georges Clemenceau that he was prepared to see allied forces pushed back to the Loire River (meaning the loss of Paris) rather than amalgamate American forces into larger European units.

Yet it was obvious that the Americans were not yet ready to fight on their own. Having held to a strict definition of neutrality, the Americans had had virtually no opportunity to learn about modern war. They needed time to learn about trench warfare and modern tactics. They also needed time to build relationships with their French and British allies and to overcome the inefficiencies of their own mobilization. Few doubted that they could do it. The question was whether they would complete these enormous tasks in time to stop the German spring offensive.
The solution came in the form of an agreement signed in mid-December, 1917. It read "in compliance with the request of Great Britain and France, prompted by the expectation of a strong German offensive, the President agrees to the American forces being, if necessary, amalgamated with the French and British units as small as the company." The final decision on the level of amalgamation was to be Pershing's.

The decision was undoubtedly the right one and probably saved thousands of American lives. Pershing ultimately decided to amalgamate at the division level, meaning that American soldiers took their orders from American officers up to the level of major general, but overall strategic direction came from more experienced French officers at the corps, army, and army group levels. This system functioned well at the watershed Second Battle of the Marne in July, 1918, and gave the Americans the crucial experiences they needed to fight a coalition war and make their mark on the final victory. It also provided General Dwight Eisenhower with the model he used in building his own coalition in the Second World War.