List of Presidents of the United States by military service

The United States Constitution names the President of the United States the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces. Previous service in the military is not a pre-requisite for the position of president. As of the 2012 presidential election, no member of the U.S. Marine Corps or U.S. Coast Guard has yet been elected President. The most frequent military experience is Army/Army Reserve with 15 presidents, followed by State Militias at 9, Navy/Naval Reserve at 6 and the Continental Army with 2 presidents serving.

Eight presidents served during World War II, while seven served in the military during the American Civil War.

The following list outlines the military service of each president before becoming the commander in chief.

President	Service	Rank	Active Service
Barack Obama	None	None	None
George W. Bush	Texas Air National Guard	First Lieutenant	Stateside service as pilot during Vietnam War (1968–1973) Received early discharge in 1973.[1]
Bill Clinton	None	None	None. Signed agreement to join Reserve Officer Training Corps at University of Arkansas during Vietnam War.[2] Subsequently withdrew and entered draft, but received high draft number and was not drafted.[3] (See Bill Clinton: Vietnam War opposition and draft controversy.)
George H. W. Bush	United States Naval Reserve	Lieutenant (Junior Grade)	Navy pilot in World War II (1942–1945). Shot down and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Congressman during the Vietnam War. President during the Gulf War.
Ronald Reagan	United States Army Reserve, United States Army Air Corps	Captain	Stateside service during World War II (1942–1945); Army Reserve (1937–1942).
Jimmy Carter	United States Navy	Lieutenant	Served during World War II as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. Sea duty and stateside service 1946–1953 during the Korean War.
Gerald Ford	United States Naval Reserve	Lieutenant Commander	World War II (1942–1945); combat on USS Monterey, discharged in 1946.
Richard Nixon	United States Naval Reserve	Commander	World War II (1942–1945); earned two battle stars for service in the Pacific.
Lyndon B. Johnson	United States Naval Reserve	Commander[4]	World War II received Silver Star medal after observation mission in which aircraft he was on came under Japanese attack.
John F. Kennedy	United States Naval Reserve	Lieutenant	Served in combat during World War II. Received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Purple Heart.
Dwight D. Eisenhower	United States Army	General of the Army	Stateside service during World War I. Served as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II (1942–1945). Visited troops in Korea in December 1952. Entire active-duty career spanned from 1915 until 1969 (excepting his two terms as president and Commander-in-Chief). President during final months of the Korean War.
Harry S. Truman[5]	Missouri Army National Guard United States Army, United States Army Reserve	Colonel	Stateside National Guard service in Missouri (1905–1911); served in combat in France during World War I (1917–1918); transferred to Army Reserve and retired in 1953.
Franklin D. Roosevelt	None	None	None; Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I. Attempted to resign in order to enter uniformed service, but resignation not accepted. Visited France as part of Navy Department duties to observe military activities first hand. Was Commander in Chief of the Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York while Governor of New York State.
Herbert Hoover	None	None	None; helped guide US Marines in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. Served as Food Administrator during World War I.
Calvin Coolidge	None	None	None; was Commander-in-Chief of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts while Governor of Massachusetts. Served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts during World War I.
Warren G. Harding	None	None	None
Woodrow Wilson	None	None	None; served as President of the United States during World War I.
William Howard Taft	Connecticut Home Guard	None	None; United States Secretary of War 1904–1908. Enlisted in Connecticut Home Guard for World War I.
Theodore Roosevelt	United States Army	Colonel	Spanish–American War – only U.S. President to receive the Medal of Honor (awarded posthumously in 2001). Also a Navy Civilian, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy[6]
William McKinley	United States Army	Brevet Major	American Civil War. Served in the 23rd Ohio Infantry under future President Rutherford B. Hayes; fought in the Battle of South Mountain, The Battle of Antietam, and in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Served as President during the Spanish-American War and at the beginning of the Philippine-American War.
Benjamin Harrison	United States Army	Brigadier General	American Civil War; Commanded an Infantry Brigade at the battles of Resaca, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Marietta, Peachtree Creek and Atlanta; also Commanded a Brigade during Sherman's March to the Sea.
Grover Cleveland	None	None	Paid George Benninsky $150 to take his place after Cleveland was drafted during Civil War under Conscription Act of 1863. Was Commander in Chief of the Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York while Governor of New York State.
Chester A. Arthur	New York State Militia	Brigadier General	Judge Advocate General, Second Brigade of the New York Militia. Served as Engineer-in-Chief on the Governor's staff, Quartermaster General and Inspector General of the New York Militia before and during the American Civil War. Declined appointment as commander of the 9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment and command of four New York City regiments organized as the Metropolitan Brigade when Governor requested he remain Quartermaster General.
James Garfield	United States Army	Major General	American Civil War (1861–1863; commanded an Ohio Infantry Brigade at the Battles of Shiloh and Corinth; served as Chief of Staff for General William Rosecrans at the Battle of Chickamauga; left the army to serve in the United States House of Representatives).
Rutherford B. Hayes	United States Army	Major General	American Civil War. Served in the 23rd Ohio Infantry and commanded future President William McKinley; wounded at the Battle of South Mountain; also served at the Battle of Antietam and in the Valley Campaigns of 1864.
Ulysses S. Grant	United States Army	General of the Army	Mexican–American War and American Civil War; served 1843–54 and 1861–68.
Andrew Johnson	United States Army	Brigadier General	Served in Tennessee Militia in 1830s. American Civil War; served as Military Governor of Tennessee in 1862.
Abraham Lincoln	Illinois State Militia	Captain	Black Hawk War (served three months in 1832); see Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War.
James Buchanan	Pennsylvania State Militia	Private	War of 1812
Franklin Pierce	United States Army	Brigadier General	New Hampshire Militia, 1831–46; Mexican–American War; commanded Infantry Brigade at Battle of Contreras (where his leg was injured), Battle of Churubusco, and the Assault on Mexico City.
Millard Fillmore	New York State Militia	Major	Served in New York Militia in 1820s and 1830s; Organized Union Continentals home guard unit in Buffalo, New York during the American Civil War.
Zachary Taylor	United States Army	Major General	War of 1812, Black Hawk War, Second Seminole War, Mexican–American War; entire career spanned from 1808 until 1848.
James K. Polk	Tennessee State Militia	Colonel	Joined cavalry unit in Tennessee Militia as a Captain. Subsequently appointed a Colonel on the staff of Governor William Carroll. Did not see war service. Served as President during the Mexican-American War.
John Tyler	Virginia militia	Captain	War of 1812.
William Henry Harrison	United States Army	Major General	Northwest Indian War, War of 1812.
Martin Van Buren	None	None	None; as State Senator during War of 1812 worked to pass war measures, including bills to expand New York militia and increase soldier pay. Special Judge Advocate appointed to aid in prosecuting William Hull at Hull's court-martial after surrender of Detroit. Commander in Chief of the Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York as New York State Governor.
Andrew Jackson	Tennessee State Militia, Continental Army, United States Army	Major General	American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Creek War, First Seminole War.
John Quincy Adams	None	None	None; however he was a witness to Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 and reportedly was a non-participant in a Naval Battle between a British ship and a US ship he was on with his father during the American Revolution. Negotiated the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812.
James Monroe	Continental Army	Major	American Revolutionary War; depicted holding the American flag behind General George Washington in the famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware; wounded at the Battle of Trenton {depicted in Trumbull's Battle of Trenton}
James Madison	Virginia militia	Colonel	American Revolutionary War, did not see action.
Thomas Jefferson	Virginia militia	Colonel	Commander of Albemarle County Militia at start of American Revolution, did not see action
John Adams	None	None	Adams served as chairman of the Continental Congress's Board of War (1776–77), making him the simultaneous equivalent of today's Secretary of Defense and Chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee; was a semi-participant in a naval engagement between a British and US ship during the American Revolution.
George Washington	Virginia militia, Virginia Regiment, Continental Army, United States Army	General of the Armies	French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War.

References

1. Lechliter, Gerald A. (2004). "President George W. Bush's Military Service: A Critical Analysis" (PDF). New York Times. New York, NY.
2. Benson, Michael (2004). Bill Clinton. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications. pp. 31, 34. ISBN 978-0-8225-0819-9.
3. Gillon, Steven M. (2008). The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-19-532278-1.
4. President Lyndon B. Johnson's Military Service Lyndon Baines Johnson Library & Museum
5. "Military Personnel File of Harry S. Truman". Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
6. http://www.pbs.org/crucible/tl7.html