The 1918 truce that halted fighting in World War I went into effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Today, that is commemorated in the U.S. as Veterans Day.

Which gives us the opportunity to share a trivia question from a reader. Jay L. Fox of Lakewood, Col., asked: “Who was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in history and what was his rank?”

There’s a simple answer — George Washington — with a complicated explanation.

Washington, a major general in the Revolutionary War, was given an honorary promotion to lieutenant general after his presidency, entitling him to three stars. All the four- and five-star generals who followed officially outranked him.

So as part of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, President Gerald R. Ford signed a resolution posthumously promoting Washington to the highest rank ever: general of the armies.