From time to time we get asked about military rank, etc. Here's a good chart to view:
RANKS
The hierarchy of military ranks used by the U.S. Army during World War II was:
RANK - CODE - NORMAL DUTIES
Major General - MAG GEN - Commands a Division
Brigadier General - BRIG GEN - Assist Div. Commander or Artillery Commander
Colonel - COL - Commands a regiment
Lieutenant Colonel - LT COL - Commands a battalion
Major - MAJ - Special
Captain - CAPT - Commands a Company or Battery
1st Lieutenant - 1ST LT - Executive Officer of a Company or Battery
2nd Lieutenant - 2ND LT - Commands a platoon
Chief Warrant Officer - CWO - Special, mostly in artillery units
Warrant Officer Junior Grade - WOJG Special, mostly in artillery units
Sergeant Major - SGT MAJ - Top enlisted rank, assigned to Regimental HQ
1st Sergeant - 1ST SGT - Top enlisted rank in a company, normally ~200 men
Master Sergeant - M/SGT - Special duties at battalion or regimental level
Technical Sergeant - T/SGT - Top enlisted rank in a platoon of about 40 men
Staff Sergeant - S/SGT - Commands a squad of 12 men
Sergeant - SGT - Second in command of a squad
Corporal - CPL - Special
Private First Class - PFC - Satisfactory performance of duties, including KP
Private - PVT - Bottom of the heap
Technician 3rd Class - T/3 - Special skills and duties; = S/SGT rank
Technician 4th Class - T/4 - Special skills and duties; = SGT rank
Technician 5th Class - T/5 - Special duties, such as Mail Clerk ; = CPL rank
Tec5 was my dad's rank 