Certain commanders of the Second World War (Patton, Monty, Rommel and Zhukov come to mind) are practically household names today. I'm wondering how famous they were during the war.
The troops under their command all knew who they were, presumably, but what about other troops or people at home? Would civilians recognize them at a glance? Today, Patton is probably more famous than Marshall, but would rank have made Marshall more famous at the time?
Douglas MacArthur was the most admired person in the country in both 1946 & 1947. Not during the war per-se, but immediately after.
The only years in which the most admired man was not the President or a Presidential candidate was Pope John Paul II in 1980, Kissinger from 1973-1975, Eisenhower in 1950 and 1967-1968, and MacArthur in 1946, 1947, & 1951. The only women to win "Most admired woman" who were neither a first lady nor former first lady are Elizabeth Kenny, Ethel Kennedy, Golda Meir, Mother Teresa, & Margaret Thatcher. It's really really rare for someone not from the White House to win the poll.