 Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz
 Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz
Pershing Road
The road in front of Union Station was named for John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) in Europe during World War I.
John J. Pershing was born September 13, 1860 in Laclede, Mo. The oldest of nine children, Pershing excelled academically and won an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1886.
His service included the 6th Cavalry who fought against the Apache, the 10th Cavalry in Santiago campaign of the Spanish-American War in 1898. Pershing served in the Philippines from 1899 to 1903, and became military attaché to the U.S. embassy in Japan during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt raised his rank from Captain to Brigadier General, promoting him ahead of 862 higher-ranked officers.
In 1916, after commanding the army that entered Mexico in pursuit of Poncho Villa and his rebels, he became a public figure in the United States. When sent to France in 1917 as commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, he insisted American Army would fight as an independent force, rather than merely filling the ranks of the battered Allies in their slow trench warfare.
By Act of Congress, Pershing was named General of the Armies of the United States. He retired from active duty in 1924 and died July 14, 1948 at the age of 88.
[Bottom Photo: Pershing Rd. is between big green lawn and the fountain.]
Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association.
Pershing Rd. & Main St., Skywalk from Crown Center to Union Station, Kansas City, Jackson County Missouri
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Missouri 
