Virginia Military Institute - Bomb Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

Page 20 text:

General Bradley, General Shell, Mrs. Marshall, Governor Harrison, and Mr. Pendleton watch the Corps of Cadets on parade as Acting Chief of Staff from July through Septerrei and was promoted to General upon becoming C.ei of Staff in late September, 1939; President Roosejli picked Marshall for this position over many of his sie- riors in service. Thus General Marshall assumed H onerous duties of Chief of Staff; he was not to relinqi 1 this burden until November, 1945, when, at his own =• quest, he was released from duty as Chief of Staff was succeeded by General Eisenhower. In his crucial years as Chief of Staff, Marshall the man responsible for building, training, and eqi ping the largest and most powerful Army in Ameri history. Robert A. Lovett says of those years, His com| ling sense of duty, his loyalty to his Commander Chief, his sincere concern for others were obvious all. His unshakeable integrity and his fearless acccl ance of the consequences of a course of action thal| felt in duty bound to take . . . , made him a great figi The British members of the Combined Chiefs of S5.R on General Marshall ' s retirement as Chief of Sol W- ! ... m President Johnson, General Shell, and Cadet Captain Rimm review Alpha Company

Page 19 text:

frequently displayed: General James Franklin, the department field commander, told his staff, Keep your eye on George Marshall. He is the greatest mili- tary genius of America since Stonewall Jackson. This evaluation proved to be true in the following years. Upon his return to the continental United States in 1917, Marshall was promoted to Captain and was soon assigned to the American Expeditionary Force under General John J. Pershing. He gained invaluable ex- perience during World War I, seeing action in the battles of Cantigny, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and Meusse-Argonne. While with the AEF between 1917 and 1919, he served on the General Staff of the First Division, served as Chief of Operations, First Army, and as Chief of Staff with the Eighth Army Corps. During these years, he held the temporary ranks of major to colonel; this rank was later made permanent. From 1919 through 1924, Marshall served as Aide-de- Camp to General Pershing. For the next three years, he commanded the 15th Infantry Division in Tientsin, China; by late 1927, he had returned to the United States, serving as instructor at the Army War College. Later that year, he was selected as Assistant Commandant of the Infantry School at (eral Eisenhower, Mrs. George C. Marshall, President John- :, and Senator Byrd are received at the home of General Shell the Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute General George C. Marshall 1880-1959 Fort Ben ning. During his five years at Benning, Marshall transformed the Infantry School from a mere school of technique into an important school of command for junior officers, and developed the concept of army schools we see today. In 1933, he took command of the 8th Infantry Divi- sion; in that year, he became senior instructor of the Illinois National Guard and was given command of the 8th Infantry Brigade at Vancouver Barracks, Washing- ton. In July of 1938, Brigadier General Marshall assumed the post of Chief of War Plans Division on the General Staff. In October of that year, he became Deputy Chief of Staff, a position he held until July, 1939. He served

Page 21 text:

' resident Johnson, accompanied by Senator Byrd, arrives at the Vir- ginia Military Institute to pay tribute to General George C. Marshall ited, Always you have honored us by yourfrankness, armed us by your courtesy and inspired us by your tgleness of purpose and your selfless devotion to r common cause. Such praise and sincere tribute almost without parallel by military men. General Marshall ' s retirement, to Dodona Manor Leesburg, Virginia, was short-lived, for the next day e President requested him to serve as his Special presentative to China (with the rank of ambassador), arshall accepted the challenge of bringing order from chaos of war-torn China. Soon after reaching China, succeeded in bringing about a truce between the itionalists and the Communists. However, this truce on failed; General Marshall returned to the United ates, having failed to stem the Communist take-over China, conditions having become irreparable before ' arrived on the scene. A similar Communist challenge suld soon face him in Europe. In February of 1947, by special act of Congress anting permission, General Marshall became Secre- tary of State; he was the first man in the nation to occupy both the highest non-elective civilian and military posts. Being confronted in Europe by Communist ad- vances highly detrimental to our interests, Marshall developed a containment or counterattack which was to aid the destitute and oppressed peoples of Europe. It was presented in the form of the Marshall Plan, later to be known as the European Recovery Program. As a result of this project, America gave aid valued at $8,231,000,000 to a total of sixteen countries. This aid, the greatest contribution America has ever produced for the cause of world peace, is credited with bringing about the rapid recovery of Europe ' s economy and of preventing further Communist take-over in Europe. General of the Army Marshall, who had been retired from the Army in February of 1947, was restored to active duty in March of 1949. After resigning as Secre- tary of State, Marshall withdrew from political affairs to serve as president of the American Red Cross. In September of 1950, he returned to serve his country as Secretary of Defense; he retired from this position in September, 1951. After more than fifty years of service to the nation, General Marshall was ready to retire. Among the awards which he earned throughout the course of his distinguished career was the United