Chief of Staff of the Army, who had been a major general, equal rank with the Chief of Naval Operations, a four-star position since 1916. World War II era Lieutenant Generals were reauthorized on 5 August 1939. Four Lieutenant Generals were authorized as temporary ranks for the commanding generals of the four numbered field armies at the time. Subsequently, the commanding generals of the Panama Canal and Hawaiian departments were raised to lieutenant general as well. The four-star rank of General remained unique to the Chief of Staff, as authorized by the act of 23 February 1929. During World War II most American Generals held temporary or "theater" appointments in the Army of the United States. Until the Second World War, the highest Marine Corps general rank was that of Major General, with Thomas Holcomb becoming the first three-star Marine general and Alexander Vandegrift becoming the first four-star Marine general (both on active duty) in history. Vandegrift's rank was awarded after becoming the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The second version of General of the Army, colloquially known as a "Five-star General" was created by Pub.L. 78-482 passed on 14 December 1944, first as a temporary rank, then made permanent 23 March 1946, by an act of the 79th Congress. It was created to give the most senior American commanders parity of rank with their British counterparts holding the rank of field marshal. The acts also created a comparable rank of Fleet Admiral for the Navy. This second General of the Army rank is not considered comparable to the American Civil War era version. The insignia for General of the Army, as created in 1944, consisted of five stars in a pentagonal pattern, with points touching. The five officers who have held the 1944 version of General of the Army were: The timing of the first four appointments was coordinated with the appointment of the U.S. Navy's five-star Fleet Admirals (on 15, 17, and 19 December 1944) to establish both a clear order of seniority and a near-equivalence between the services. A historical rumor suggests that the title 'General of the Army' was used instead of the 'Field Marshal' so that George Marshall would not be known as "Marshal Marshall". Most military sources agree that it is more likely that the rank was named after its 19th-century counterpart and was so named because the rank of Field Marshal was considered