The presentation of posthumous rank in the United States Armed Forces has become less common in the 21st century, but was widely used during the era of the Vietnam War and prior.
For instance, the Arctic explorer Captain Sir John Franklin of the Royal Navy was promoted Rear-Admiral of the Blue (the lowest rank of admiral at that time) in October 1852.
In Fall 1941, Adolf Hitler decreed, that German military personnel killed, died, or missing in World War II could be promoted in rank posthumously, if certain criteria had been met.
This included: In principle, personnel that committed suicide would not be considered for posthumous promotion, except in special cases with approval of the commander in chief of the Wehrmacht branch concerned.
For example, the Southern Song general Yue Fei was posthumously accorded the official position of Junior Guardian (少保).
In traditional Sinospheric fashion, the full posthumous noble title of Yue Fei is thus Prince Zhongwu of E (鄂忠武王).