Photographs from the George C. Marshall Foundation collection document the May 15, 1951 ceremonies honoring George C. Marshall at Virginia Military Institute, including the presentation of the Virginia Distinguished Service Medal and the dedication of Marshall Arch.
Marshall Day at VMI: May 15, 1951
Each May 15, the Virginia Military Institute corps of cadets assembles to pay tribute to the ten cadets who were killed in the Civil War Battle of New Market, in 1864.
VMI cadets march in procession through Jackson Arch during ceremonies in Lexington, Virginia. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Cannons are fired in tribute during ceremonies at VMI. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Marshall Returns to VMI
On New Market Day in 1951, VMI also celebrated the fifty-year career of their most accomplished graduate, George C. Marshall, Class of 1901.
The Virginia Distinguished Service Medal
That morning Marshall was awarded the Virginia Distinguished Service Medal and at 11:15 a.m. was present for the New Market Day ceremonial roll call, in which the names of the ten cadets were read aloud one by one.
The Dedication of Marshall Arch
At 12:15 p.m. VMI held a ceremony dedicating the George Catlett Marshall Arch, an entranceway into a new section of the barracks completed in 1949. Marshall Arch joined two arches named after Generals George Washington and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The program reverently states: “Through the George Catlett Marshall Arch shall march the cadets of today and the future.”
Crowds gather for the dedication of the George Catlett Marshall Arch at VMI. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Guests and cadets attend the dedication ceremony for Marshall Arch. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Looking toward George Catlett Marshall Arch during the dedication ceremony. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Bernard Baruch speaks during the dedication of Marshall Arch. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert A. Lovett and Mrs. Lovett, with Stuart Symington and Mrs. Symington, attend the dedication of Marshall Arch. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
George C. Marshall speaks during the dedication of Marshall Arch. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Crowds disperse after the dedication of Marshall Arch. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
George C. Marshall stands beneath the newly dedicated George Catlett Marshall Arch with cadets Victor Parks III (left) and Paul Scott Williams (right). May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
A 1994 letter from C. E. May identifies the VMI cadets photographed with George C. Marshall at Marshall Arch and notes their later accomplishments. George C. Marshall Foundation archives.
George C. Marshall also attended a VMI Board of Visitors meeting during his May 15, 1951 visit. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
The Class of 1901 Reunion
Later that evening Marshall had his 50th Class Reunion. Marshall made light of the event later when asked by his biographer Forrest C. Pogue if he was ever “made to feel that you were a Yankee at VMI”:
“Yes, quite a bit. I was ‘hazed’ on my accent up to the day of my graduation. I remember that when I was called on to make a speech at my class dinner honoring the occasion of naming this arch for me, my principal twist that I gave to it was while they were these southern fellows largely, and while they pretty much kept the pressure on me on account of my northern accent and all, I happened to be the one and only one there who had an arch named for him down at the VMI.”
George C. Marshall attends the VMI Class of 1901 reunion. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
George C. Marshall poses with three members of the VMI Class of 1901 as they look over a photograph taken half a century earlier. Left to right: Rev. James V. Johnson, Col. C. S. Roller Jr., Marshall, and Col. B. B. Browne. May 15, 1951. AP Wire photo.
Cadets holding commissioned rank at VMI, Class of 1901. First Captain and Commander of Company A George C. Marshall is seated in the front row, third from left. Front row, left to right: Taylor Scott Carter, William Wallace Sheppard, Marshall, Richard Coke Marshall Jr., Calvert Cornelius McCabe, Julien Ravenel Marshall, Charles Somerville Roller. Back row, left to right: Walton Goodwin Jr., Otho Vaughan Kean, Fred Cotten Elliott, Edward LeGrand Cannon, Leroy Anderson Britton, Philip Bradley Peyton, Edwin Scott Martin, Morgan Hughes Hudgins. Richard and Julien Marshall were brothers but were not related to George C. Marshall. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Members of the VMI Class of 1901 as they appeared as cadets and at their 50th reunion during Marshall Day. May 15, 1951. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Marshall Arch After Marshall
A year after Marshall’s death, VMI added a plaque beneath Marshall Arch with a tribute from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
A plaque beneath Marshall Arch includes a tribute to George C. Marshall from President Dwight D. Eisenhower. George C. Marshall Foundation photo.
Archival caption for the George C. Marshall Foundation photograph of the Marshall Arch plaque. George C. Marshall Foundation archives.
Additional Resources
WATCH – The Pennsylvanian: George Marshall at VMI Legacy Lecture by Dr. Bradley L. Coleman