One thing that didn't make sense to me - for Pitt to have fought the Germans from Africa to the last weeks of the war in a tank and to do it with his crew - seems like with the attrition in armor and that time line - he'd be better n E6. But I don't know the exacts of war time promotion or the rank structure of the Army in the ETO at the time.
My Grandfather fought the Germans in 6 different countries, starting in N Africa and ending up in Austria at the end of the war. He was an E-1 in England before going to Africa and an E-5 at the end of the war. Some people certainly gained rank fast but I think the most were lost in the shuffle and didn't get promoted very fast at all.
