re: #387 darthstar

They all serve as Commander in Chief.

Not the original question. That answer applies to all the others who want to shift FDR and the Adams family as well. The question was how many had actually served.

If you start allowing sorta-military service you start pulling your biases. Did Hoover’s time guiding Marines during the Boxer revolution count? What of Taft’s service as Secretary of War? Should we truly count Jefferson’s Virginia colonelcy given it was purely an administrative award?

That said, you (Darthstar) have also grasped the crux. Their lives and actions prior to becoming president are immaterial. They became the commander in chief, and as such had the position and authority of the ultimate commissioned officer, a de facto military service position.