What exactly is the "issue?" Try to clarify in certain terms what you are asking because it helps those who reply, reply in a manner that is relevant and helpful.
Apparently you have a few distinct questions, which need to be untangled in order for someone to make a useful reply.
"Some say that daily push ups are great to build strength and endurance"
That's absolutely true..
Push-ups build your chest, triceps, and back, increase your strength and ability to perform strenuous work, and also undoubtedly help with your endurance.
The great things is that pushups only require a surface. So you can do pushups at home, on the road, or in prison.
The obvious question is, what do you hope to achieve; what do you aim to do?
Are you trying to build endurance? Push-ups build endurance more than they do strength. That's why someone might be able to do, say 100 pushups in one go, but cannot bench press an impressive amount of weight.
Are you trying to build strength? Push-ups also build your upper body, and back strength to a large degree, and make themselves available as an excellent alternative in lieu of any weights, or equipment. At some point though, push-ups become obsolete as an excercise to build strength, when you could just as easily do a compound excercise with free weights, such as a bench press, squat, or deadlift. Furthermore, when you build your strength to a great degree, with weights, your endurance will also increase concomitantly.
I think the military uses push-ups because it's a basic measure of fitness. However, for someone who has specific aims, push-ups are not the best option.
Granted, push-ups can help you achieve a level of fitness that might serve as a foundation to more intensive workouts, but there is no reason why you shouldn't start lifting weights right away.
Only if you are completely out of shape, would I suggest that you forgo lifting weights, and do push-ups to start with.
"Other sources say that you're not supposed to work the same muscle group more than twice a week and that you have to give at least 2 days to recover in between."
That's quite true also. If you are going to focus on only a few bodyparts in a given day, you are putting yourself at a much greater risk of overtraining by working that bodypart more than once a week.
However, for someone who is just doing general excercises such as pushups, chin-ups, or even all body workouts, you shouldn't have to worry about working the same bodyparts generically, more than once a week.
"My upper body strength sucks period."
The absolute best way to increase upper body strength is by bench pressing. No excercise measures up to the bench press for chest strength and size.
"I would like to be able to at least press my own weight easily before i goto benching excersises without having a spotter."
That's complete nonsense. What is special about bench pressing your own weight? Does that all of a sudden put you in a better starting position to become stronger?
It doesn't. When I first started bench-pressing I weighed in at 140 lbs, but I could barely press 100lb once.
You may do better or worse, but you have to understand that there are with few exceptions, no prerequisites that must first be seen to before you can start lifting.
If you can lift only the bar, go for it. Your strength, over time will increase no matter where you start. Good luck.