The iron-willed and stone-faced general who led American troops to victory in World War I., including his enormous triumphs and bitter tragedies.  When Pershing returned home, Congress made him only the second person (after George Washington) to be honored with the rank of “General of the Armies of the United States.” As the war’s greatest American hero, he was considered a possible president, but failed to win the 1920 Republican nomination. He served as U.S. Army chief of staff from 1921 to 1924, and remained a respected adviser on military matters for decades to come.

Here Pershing is touring the Gatun Locks with friends and crossing the lake gate with the emergency dam behind.