Background

George Catlett Marshall was born on December 31, 1880, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, United States. He was a son of George Catlett and Laura (Bradford) Marshall. Marshall came from an old Virginia family. He was a descendant of John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court. George Marshall also had a sister and a brother.

Education

George Marshall attended Virginia Military Institute from 1896 to 1901. In 1907, he attended Infantry-Cavalry School Course that later became Army Command and General Staff College where Marshall studied until 1908.

Career

George Marshall started his military career in 1902 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the army. For the next fourteen years, Marshall served at several posts around the country in addition to two stints in the Philippines. In 1908, he was appointed instructor at the United States Army Command and General Staff College and held his post until 1911. After serving assignments in Massachusetts, Arkansas, and Texas, Marshall was assigned to the 13th Infantry in the Philippines, where he served as an aide to General Hunter Liggett. In 1916, he returned to the United States and became General J. Franklin Bell's aide.

In 1917, when the United States became involved in World War I, George Marshall was chosen to act as chief of operations for the first army division sent to France. While there, he served under General John J. Pershing and was a key planner of operations, including the battles of Aisne-Marne and Meuse-Argonne. After the war, George Marshall served as Pershing's aide-de-camp from 1919 to 1924. In 1924, Marshall was assigned to command a United States infantry regiment in China for three years before returning to Washington, District of Columbia. From 1927 to 1932, he served as assistant commandant at the United States Army Infantry School and, from June 1932 to June 1933, Marshall was the commanding officer of the 8th Infantry Regiment at Fort Screven, Georgia. He also served as commander of Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, and District I of the Civilian Conservation Corps from July 1933 to October 1933. He was a senior instructor and chief of staff for the Illinois National Guard's 33rd Division from November 1933 to August 1936.

George Marshall was promoted to brigadier general of the 5th Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division and Vancouver Barracks in October 1936 and held this post until 1938. In 1938, he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Army and soon he was promoted to chief of staff and was sworn in on September 1, 1939. World War II started the same year and Marshall would hold this post until the end of the war in 1945. Following the entrance of the United States into World War II in 1941, Marshall held a crucial role in military planning, the training of troops, and the development of new weapons. Even though he had never actually led troops in combat, he was bestowed with great organizing and leadership skills with which he inspired other officers. He also played a pivotal role in preparing the United States Army and Army Air Forces for the invasion of the European continent. In December 1944, George Marshall was promoted to the newly created position of General of the Army. He coordinated Allied operations in Europe and the Pacific throughout the remainder of World War II.

In the post-war years, George Marshall was appointed Secretary of State by President Truman in 1947. He also served as President of the American National Red Cross from 1949 to 1950. He served as the United States Special Envoy to China from December 20, 1945 to January 1947. Marshall designed and implemented the European Recovery Program that became known as the Marshall Plan. After a very busy two years as secretary of state, Marshall resigned due to health problems. However, in 1950, Truman asked Marshall to serve as secretary of defense. Due to ill health, Marshall served only one year before retiring completely from public life in September 1951. He remained a high-ranking advisor to the United States government. He was head of the American delegation at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Marshall also served as Chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission from 1949 to 1959. George Marshall died at Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, District of Columbia, in 1959, after suffering a series of strokes.

Achievements

• 

  George Marshall was an American soldier and statesman who was known as the 15th United States Army Chief of Staff. He also served as United States Secretary of Defense and United States Secretary of State. Marshall gained much fame for his leadership skills during World War II during which he built and directed the largest army in history. He also was hailed as one of the military heroes in the Allied victory in World War II by Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister.
  
  George Marshall received numerous awards, including the World War I Victory Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Army of Occupation of Germany Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. In 1953, he was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for the Marshall Plan. In 1948, he was awarded the Grand Lodge of New York's Distinguished Achievement Award for his role and contributions during and after World War II.
  
  The British Parliament established the Marshall Scholarship in recognition of Marshall's contributions to Anglo-American relations. Many buildings and streets throughout the United States are named in his honor. Marshall has been played in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! by Keith Andes and also in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor by Scott Wilson.

Works

More photos

• book

  • General Marshall's Report: The Winning of The War in Europe and The Pacific

    (English edition)

    1945

Politics

As Secretary of State, George Marshall was instrumental in designing and implementing the European Recovery Program in the years following World War II. The program which became known as the Marshall Plan aimed at implementing major economic reforms in European countries for rebuilding the economy after the devastation caused by the war.

After Chinese military intervention in Korea, Marshall opposed cease-fire on the grounds that it would make the U.S. look weak in China's eyes. However, when some in Congress favored expanding the war in Korea and confronting China, Marshall argued against a wider war in Korea and said that it was more important to contain the Soviet Union during the Cold War battle for primacy in Europe.

Marshall strongly opposed recognizing the newly formed state of Israel. He said that if the state of Israel was declared that a war would break out in the Middle East.

Views

Quotations: "I would say – when the fighting is at its fiercest, it is invariably the Infantry that carries the ball over for the touchdown."

"I cannot afford the luxury of sentiment, mine must be cold logic."

"We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, Our Flag will be recognized throughout the World as a symbol of Freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other."

"If man does find the solution for world peace it will be the most revolutionary reversal of his record we have ever known."

"It is not enough to fight. It is the spirit which we bring to the fight that decides the issue. It is morale that wins the victory."

"The only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it."

"Don’t fight the problem, decide it."

"Military power wins battles, but spiritual power wins wars."

Membership

George Marshall was a Freemason, having been made a Mason "at sight" in 1941 by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.

Personality

Those who knew George Marshall said that he possessed a distant and rather forbidding personality. However, he was a humane and selfless man who always put the welfare of others first. In social situations, he was typically genial, friendly, and sometimes even warm and charming.

George Marshall was an avid football player. He was a member of the 1900 VMI Keydets football team that represented Virginia Military Institute.

Quotes from others about the person

• Winston Churchill: "There are few men whose qualities of mind and character have impressed me so deeply as those of General Marshall. He is a great American but he is far more than that. In war he was as wise and understanding in counsel as he was resolute in action. In peace he was the architect who planned the restoration of our battered European economy and at the same time laboured tirelessly to establish a system of Western defense. He has always fought victoriously against defeatism, discouragement, and disillusion. Succeeding generations must not be allowed to forget his achievements and his example."
  
  Dwight D. Eisenhower: "I have been saying that ever since I first knew him well, that he, to me, has typified all that we call or that we look for in what we call an American patriot."
  
  Mark A. Stoler: "Douglas MacArthur was the last great 19th century soldier, while George Marshall was the first great 20th century soldier."
  
  Harry S. Truman: "In a war unparalleled in magnitude and horror, millions of Americans gave their country outstanding service. General of the Army George C. Marshall gave it victory."

Interests

• Sport & Clubs

  Football

Connections

George Marshall married Elizabeth Carter Coles on February 11, 1902. The marriage produced no children. Elizabeth died on September 15, 1927 after thyroid surgery. On October 15, 1930, Marshall married Katherine Boyce Tupper, the widow of Baltimore lawyer Clifton Stevenson Brown and the mother of three children.

Father:

George Catlett Marshall

George Catlett Marshall (November 17, 1845 – September 20, 1909) was a coal merchant.

Mother:

Laura Emily (Bradford) Marshall

(January 21, 1846 – October 28, 1928)

Brother:

Stuart Bradford Marshall

Stuart Bradford Marshall (February 1875 – November 13, 1956) was a manager and executive in several metal production corporations, including the American Manganese Manufacturing Company.

Sister:

Marie Marshall

(1876 – 1962)

late wife:

Elizabeth Carter Coles

(1874 – September 15, 1927)

Wife:

Katherine Tupper

(October 8, 1882 – December 18, 1978)

References

• George C. Marshall's Mediation Mission to China, December 1945 - January 1947
  1998
• George C. Marshall: Interviews and Reminiscences Interviews with George C. Marshall about his time in the army.
  1991
• George C. Marshall: Servant of the American Nation Bringing together a who's who of Marshall scholars, this volume examines the major roles assumed by Marshall over his five-decade career – soldier, statesman and peacemaker, and leader and manager – to illuminate key issues and themes surrounding the man and his era.
  2011
• Partners in Command: George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower in War and Peace A unique look at the complex relationship between two of America's foremost World War II leaders. The first book ever to explore the relationship between George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower, Partners in Command eloquently tackles a subject that has eluded historians for years.
  2007