bluegargantua

24 Presidents served in the military. 16 served in combat.

Looks like only three were graduates of either West Point or Annapolis.



George Washington, 1st President. Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President. James Madison, 4th President. (mentioned above)

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James Monroe, 5th President. Secretary of War under Madison. Served as a combat officer in the 3rd Virginia and was wounded at Trenton.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0275240-00
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Andrew Jackson, 7th President. Served in combat against the Native Americans and the British.

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William Henry Harrison, 9th President. Captain in the regular army, later a major general in the militia. Served in combat against various Native American tribes.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0194730-00

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Zach Taylor, 12th President. Regular army. Served in combat against the British, various Native American tribes, and the Mexicans.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0380680-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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Franklin Pierce, 14th President. Enlisted as a private in the regular army, rose to the rank of brigadier general. Served in combat against the Mexicans.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0312700-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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James Buchanan, 15th President. Brief service during the War of 1812.

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Ulysses S Grant, 18th President. West Point grad. I think he was the first West Point graduate to become President.

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Rutherford B Hayes, 19th President. Served in an Ohio volunteer regiment during the Civil War, rose to the rank of Major General.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0196450-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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James Garfield, 20th President. Another Civil War vet who made major general.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0171100-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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Chester Arthur, 21st President. Served as the state quartermaster general for NY. Basically he was in charge of handling logistics for the NY state militia.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0022680-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President. Volunteered during the Civil War and made brigadier general.

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/benjaminharrison/p/pbharrison.htm

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William McKinley, 25th President. Volunteered during the Civil War, made the rank of brevet major. Served for a while in the same Ohio volunteer regiment as Hayes.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0264920-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President. Formed and led a volunteer calvary regiment in the Spanish-American War.

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Harry Truman, 33rd President. Saw combat as an artillery captain in the National Guard during World War I.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0393810-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President. West Point grad. Rose to the rank of 5 star general in the U.S. Army and was the supreme commander of the Allies in Europe during World War II.

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John F. Kennedy, 35th President. U.S. Navy, saw combat against the Japanese in World War II.

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Gerald R. Ford, 38th President. U.S. Navy during World War II, made lieutenant commander. Served on the carrier USS Monterey.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0161740-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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James Carter, 39th President. Graduated U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 and retired from the Navy in 1953.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0078990-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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Ronald Reagan, 40th President. Spent three years in the Army making training films, during World War II. Achieved the rank of Captain.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0329270-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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George H. W. Bush, 41st President. Enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a pilot and flew 58 combat missions in the Pacific during World War II.

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0068080-00&templatename=/article/article.html

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George W. Bush, 42nd President. Avoided Vietnam by wangling himself a commission in the Texas Air National Guard. Or something.