George Marshall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids George C. Marshall
Official portrait, 1946
3rd United States Secretary of Defense
In office 21 September 1950 – 12 September 1951
President	Harry S. Truman
Deputy	Stephen Early Robert A. Lovett
Preceded by	Louis A. Johnson
Succeeded by	Robert A. Lovett
10th President of the American Red Cross
In office 1 October 1949 – 1 December 1950
President	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Basil O'Connor
Succeeded by	E. Roland Harriman
2nd Chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission
In office January 1949 – 16 October 1959
Preceded by	John J. Pershing
Succeeded by	Jacob L. Devers
50th United States Secretary of State
In office 21 January 1947 – 20 January 1949
President	Harry S. Truman
Deputy	Dean Acheson Robert A. Lovett
Preceded by	James F. Byrnes
Succeeded by	Dean Acheson
United States Special Envoy to China
In office 20 December 1945 – 6 January 1947
President	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
15th Chief of Staff of the United States Army
In office 1 September 1939 – 18 November 1945
President	Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman
Deputy	Lorenzo D. Gasser William Bryden
Preceded by	Malin Craig
Succeeded by	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Personal details
Born	George Catlett Marshall Jr. (1880-12-31)31 December 1880 Uniontown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	16 October 1959(1959-10-16) (aged 78) Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Political party	None
Spouses	Lily Carter Coles ​ ​ (m. 1902; died 1927)​ Katherine Boyce Tupper Brown ​ (m. 1930)​
Education	Virginia Military Institute
Civilian awards	Nobel Peace Prize Congressional Gold Medal Charlemagne Prize Complete list
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1902–1959
Rank	General of the Army
Commands	Chief of Staff of the United States Army Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Army 5th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Fort Moultrie and District I, Civilian Conservation Corps Fort Screven and District F, Civilian Conservation Corps 8th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	Philippine–American War World War I Western Front Meuse-Argonne Offensive World War II Chinese Civil War Operation Beleaguer Korean War
Military awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star Croix de Guerre Complete list
College football career
VMI Keydets
Position	Left Tackle
Career history
College	VMI (1900)
Career highlights and awards
All-Southern (1900)

George Catlett Marshall Jr. GCB (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, then served as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense under Truman. Winston Churchill lauded Marshall as the "organizer of victory" for his leadership of the Allied victory in World War II. As Secretary of State, Marshall advocated for a U.S. economic and political commitment to post-war European recovery, including the Marshall Plan that bore his name. In recognition of this work, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953, the only Army general ever to receive the honor.

Early life and education

George Catlett Marshall Jr. was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the youngest of three children born to George Catlett Marshall and Laura Emily (née Bradford) Marshall. Both sides of his family were long from Kentucky, but cherished their Virginian roots. He was also a first cousin, three times removed, of former Chief Justice John Marshall. Marshall's father was active in the coal and coke business. Later, when asked about his political allegiances, Marshall often joked that his father had been a Democrat and his mother a Republican, whereas he was an Episcopalian.

Marshall was educated at Miss Alcinda Thompson's private school in Uniontown and spent a year at Uniontown's Central School. Having decided early in life that he desired a career in the military, but unlikely to obtain an appointment to the United States Military Academy because of his average grades, he looked to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for a formal education. Marshall's brother Stuart, a VMI alumnus, believed George would not succeed and argued that their mother should not let George attend out of concern that he would "disgrace the family name." Determined to "wipe his brother's face," Marshall enrolled at the age of sixteen in December 1897. To pay for his tuition and expenses, Marshall's mother sold parcels of land she owned in Uniontown and Augusta, Kentucky.

1900 VMI Keydets football team. Marshall circled

During his years at VMI, Marshall always ranked first in military discipline and about midway academically. He attained the rank of first captain, the highest a cadet could achieve, and graduated 15th of 34 in the Class of 1901. Marshall received a diploma, not a degree. At the time of his graduation, the top five or six VMI graduates received bachelor's degrees. The rest received diplomas attesting to their status as graduates. He played offensive tackle on the football team and in 1900 he was selected for All-Southern honors.

Career

Marshall served in the United States and overseas in positions of increasing rank, including platoon leader and company commander in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War. He was the top-ranked of the five Honor Graduates of his Infantry-Cavalry School Course in 1907 and graduated first in his 1908 Army Staff College class. In 1916 Marshall was assigned as aide-de-camp to J. Franklin Bell, the commander of the Western Department. After the nation entered World War I in 1917, Marshall served with Bell who commanded the Department of the East. He was assigned to the staff of the 1st Division; he assisted with the organization's mobilization and training in the United States, as well as planning of its combat operations in France. Subsequently, assigned to the staff of the American Expeditionary Forces headquarters, he was a key planner of American operations, including the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

After the war, Marshall became an aide-de-camp to then Army Chief of Staff John J. Pershing. Marshall later served on the Army staff, was the executive officer of the 15th Infantry Regiment in China and was an instructor at the Army War College. In 1927, he became assistant commandant of the Army's Infantry School, where he modernized command and staff processes, which proved to be of major benefit during World War II. In 1932 and 1933 he commanded the 8th Infantry Regiment and Fort Screven, Georgia. Marshall commanded 5th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and Vancouver Barracks from 1936 to 1938; he received promotion to brigadier general. During this command, Marshall was also responsible for 35 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps in Oregon and Southern Washington. In July 1938, Marshall was assigned to the War Plans Division on the War Department staff; he later became the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff. When Chief of Staff Malin Craig retired in 1939, Marshall assumed the role of Chief of Staff in an acting capacity before his appointment to the position, which he held until the war's end in 1945.

As Chief of Staff, Marshall, working closely with Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, organized the largest military expansion in U.S. history, and received promotion to five-star rank as General of the Army. Marshall coordinated Allied operations in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. In addition to accolades from Winston Churchill and other Allied leaders, Time magazine named Marshall its Man of the Year for 1943 and 1947. Marshall retired from active service in 1945, but remained on active duty, as required for holders of five-star rank. From 15 December 1945 to January 1947, Marshall served as a special envoy to China in an unsuccessful effort to negotiate a coalition government between the Nationalists of Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists of Mao Zedong.

As Secretary of State from 1947 to 1949, Marshall advocated rebuilding Europe, a program that became known as the Marshall Plan, and which led to his being awarded the 1953 Nobel Peace Prize. After resigning as Secretary of State, Marshall served as chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission and president of the American National Red Cross. As Secretary of Defense at the start of the Korean War, Marshall worked to restore the military's confidence and morale at the end of its post-World War II demobilization and then its initial buildup for combat in Korea and operations during the Cold War. After resigning as Defense Secretary, Marshall retired to his home in Virginia.

Death and burial

Grave site of George Marshall at Arlington National Cemetery

After a series of strokes, Marshall died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., on 16 October 1959. Although he was entitled to official proceedings, Marshall preferred simplicity, so he received a special military funeral that dispensed with many of the usual activities. The ceremonies included lying in state at Washington National Cathedral for 24 hours, guarded by representatives from each U.S. armed service and a VMI cadet.

Marshall was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 7, Grave 8198, beside his first wife and her mother, Elizabeth Pendleton Coles (1849–1929). His second wife was also buried with him after she died on 18 December 1978. On its reverse side, the marble headstone lists General Marshall's positions held: "Chief of Staff U.S. Army, Secretary of State, President of American Red Cross, Secretary of Defense." The five-star rank adorns both sides of the stone.

Reputation and legacy

George Marshall portrait by Thomas E. Stephens, (c. 1949)

George Marshall was the best-known and most active – and most selfless – American leader in the early Cold War. In a television interview after leaving office, Truman was asked which American he thought had made the greatest contribution of the preceding thirty years. Without hesitation, Truman picked Marshall, adding "I don't think in this age in which I have lived, that there has been a man who has been a greater administrator; a man with a knowledge of military affairs equal to General Marshall."

In addition to his military success, Marshall is primarily remembered as the driving force behind the Marshall Plan, which provided billions of dollars in aid to post war Europe to restart the economies of the destroyed countries.

Tributes and memorials

A statue of General Marshall is unveiled at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies on 30 April 1998.

Two non-profit organizations, the George C. Marshall Foundation and the George C. Marshall International Center, actively propagate General Marshall's legacy. The Marshall Foundation oversees Marshall's official papers and over two million other documents relating to the 20th century. The International Center preserves Marshall's home, Dodona Manor, as a museum and hosts educational programs focusing on Marshall's life, leadership, and role in American history.

Numerous streets are named for General Marshall, including George-Marshall-Straße in Wiesbaden, Germany and George-C.-Marshall-Ring in Oberursel, Germany.

On 30 April 1998, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies unveiled the first public statue of General Marshall in Europe in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The slightly larger-than-life statue was sponsored by the Marshall Center, the Friends of the Marshall Center and the City of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It shows Marshall in uniform walking across a bronze bridge, facing east, to greet new friends and allies and was designed by artist Christiane Horn of Wartenberg, Bavaria. Vernon A. Walters, former U.S. ambassador to Germany, was a keynote speaker during the dedication ceremony.

Fictional portrayals

Marshall has been played in film and television by:

• Keith Andes in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!
• Ward Costello in the 1977 film MacArthur.
• Dana Andrews in the 1979 film Ike, The War Years.
• Bill Morey in the 1980 television film Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb.
• Norman Burton in the 1988 miniseries War and Remembrance.
• Hal Holbrook in the 1989 television film Day One.
• Harris Yulin in the 1995 television movie Truman.
• Harve Presnell in the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan.
• Scott Wilson in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor.
• Donald Eugene McCoy in the 2009 Chinese movie The Founding of a Republic.
• Will Roberts in the 2023 film Oppenheimer.

Dates of rank

Marshall's dates of rank were:

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date
No pin insignia in 1902	Second lieutenant	United States Army	2 February 1901 (Appointment accepted February 2, 1902)
	First lieutenant	United States Army	7 March 1907
	Captain	United States Army	1 July 1916
	Major	National Army	5 August 1917
	Lieutenant colonel	National Army	5 January 1918
	Colonel	National Army	27 August 1918
	Captain	Regular Army	30 June 1920 (Reverted to permanent rank)
	Major	Regular Army	1 July 1920
	Lieutenant colonel	Regular Army	21 August 1923
	Colonel	Regular Army	1 September 1933
	Brigadier general	Regular Army	1 October 1936
	Major general	Regular Army	1 September 1939
	General	Army of the United States	1 September 1939
	General of the Army	Army of the United States	16 December 1944
	General of the Army	Regular Army	11 April 1946

Note – Marshall served as Secretary of State from 21 January 1947 to 20 January 1949. He retired from the Army on 28 February 1947 and returned to active duty on 1 March 1949.

Awards and decorations

U.S. Military Decorations
	Army Distinguished Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
	Silver Star
	Expert Rifleman Badge
U.S. Service Medals
	Philippine Campaign Medal
	Mexican Border Service Medal
	World War I Victory Medal with five campaign clasps
	Army of Occupation of Germany Medal
	American Defense Service Medal with Foreign Service Clasp
	American Campaign Medal (First recipient)
	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars
	World War II Victory Medal
	National Defense Service Medal
	Four Overseas Chevrons (for service in World War I)
	One Overseas Service Bar
Foreign Orders
	Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom)
	Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
	Order of Blue Sky and White Sun (Republic of China)
	Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil)
	Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Chile)
	Grand Cross of the Order of Boyacá Cherifien (Colombia)
	Member 1st Class of the Order of Military Merit (Cuba)
	Member 1st Class of the Order of Abdon Calderon (Ecuador)
	Knight Grand Cross with swords of the Order of George I (Greece)
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy)
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy (Italy)
	Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Morocco)
	Knight Grand Cross with swords of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)
	Grand Officer of the Order of the Sun (Peru)
	Member 1st Class of the Order of Suvorov (Soviet Union)
Foreign Decorations and Medals
	Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 with bronze palm (France)
	Medal for the Centennial of the Republic of Liberia (Liberia)
	Silver Medal for Bravery (Montenegro)
	Medal of Solidarity, 2nd Class (Panama)
	Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (United Kingdom)
	Fourragère in the colors of the Croix de Guerre (France)

Civilian honors

Honorary degrees

Honorary degrees

Location	Date	School	Degree	Gave Commencement Address
Kansas	1934	Command and General Staff College	Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Pennsylvania	1939	Washington and Jefferson College	Doctor of Science (Sd.D)
Pennsylvania	1940	Pennsylvania Military College	Doctor of Military Science (DScMil)
Virginia	1941	College of William and Mary	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)	Yes
Connecticut	15 June 1941	Trinity College	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)	Yes
Vermont	1942	Norwich University	Doctor of Military Science (DScMil)
New York	1947	Columbia University	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
New Jersey	22 February 1947	Princeton University	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)	Yes
Massachusetts	6 June 1947	Harvard University	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
Massachusetts	16 June 1947	Amherst College	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)	Yes
Rhode Island	16 June 1947	Brown University	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)	Yes
Quebec	1947	McGill University	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
Pennsylvania	1947	Lafayette College	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
California	1947	University of California	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
United Kingdom	1947	University of London	Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
United Kingdom	11 November 1947	University of Oxford	Doctor of Civil Law (DCL)

Images for kids

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  Brigadier General Marshall in 1938

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  Cover to the book Infantry in Battle, the World War II officer's guide to infantry combat operations. Marshall directed production of the book, which is still used as a reference today.

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  Army Chief of Staff Marshall with Secretary of War Henry Stimson

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  Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall with Chief of the Army Air Force General Henry "Hap" Arnold in England on July 23, 1945.

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  General Marshall with Chiang Kai-shek and Zhou Enlai in China, 1946.

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  General Marshall being sworn in as Secretary of State by Chief Justice Fred Vinson in the Oval Office on January 21, 1947.

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  Secretary of State Marshall speaks to The House Appropriations Committee. January 15, 1948.

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  Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall in his office at The Pentagon.

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  Dodona Manor, the 19th century home and gardens of George Marshall and his wife Katherine

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  Cover of Together: Annals of an Army Wife, by Katherine Tupper Marshall. Published 1946.

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  General John Pershing (left) with Colonel Marshall in France, 1919.

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  Army Chief of Staff George Marshall with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. "Hap" Arnold accompanying Brig. Gen. James H. Doolittle while being presented the Medal of Honor from President Franklin Roosevelt for his achievement on leading the Doolittle Raid. April 18, 1942.

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  Oveta Culp Hobby being sworn in as the first WAAC by Major General Myron C. Cramer. General George C. Marshall, second from left, and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson witness the ceremony. May 16, 1942.

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  Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, 1944

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  General Marshall greets Major General John R. Deane and Brigadier General Stuart Cutler while arriving at Potsdam, Germany on July 15, 1945.

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  Recently sworn in George C. Marshall as the new United States Secretary of State shaking hands with his predecessor James F. Byrnes, as President Truman looks on, at the White House, January 21, 1947.

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  Secretary of State George Marshall greeted by President Harry S. Truman at Washington National Airport. August 13, 1947.

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  Secretary of State Marshall pointing out landmarks at Mount Vernon to Mexican President Miguel Aleman. April 1947.

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  Award of honorary degrees at Harvard to J Robert Oppenheimer (left), George C. Marshall (third from left), Omar N. Bradley (fifth from left), and T. S. Eliot (second from right). The President of Harvard University, James B. Conant, sits between Marshall and Bradley. June 5, 1947.

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  Secretary of Defense Marshall with President Truman and Princeton University President Harold W. Dodds at the Library of Congress. May 17, 1950.

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  Anna M. Rosenberg being sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Defense by Felix Larkin (left), General Counsel of the Department of Defense. General George Marshall (second from right) and Robert A. Lovett (right), Deputy Secretary of Defense, witness. November 15, 1950.

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  Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall with President Truman, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, and Prime Minister of France Rene Pleven during Pleven visit to Washington D.C., at the White House on January 29, 1951.

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  General Marshall's Congressional Gold Medal. Designed by Anthony de Francisci in 1946.

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  President Roosevelt's nomination of General Marshall to be Major General. 30 June 1939.

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  President Harry S. Truman awarding General Marshall an Oak Leaf Cluster to his Distinguished Service Medal on 26 November 1945.

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  General Marshall's Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)

See also

In Spanish: George Marshall para niños