George C. Marshall

On May 25, 1939, the Navy cruiser U.S.S. Nashville docked at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Acting Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. George Marshall began his first trip on the world stage. The planning for the trip was detailed, and included ordering the white uniforms worn in the tropics. While at March Air Base, CA, […]

Some of George Marshall’s favorite childhood memories were going fishing, especially with his father. These father-son excursions led to an enjoyable lifelong hobby for him. One story of a childhood fishing trip was on the Youghiogheny River (pronounced “Yock-a-gainy”). Marshall’s father and two friends, along with young George (not too much older than the photo […]

In 1919, Lt. Col. George C. Marshall, Jr. was awarded the Ordre National de la Légion d’honneur Officier (National Order of the Legion of Honor, degree of officer), for his service in France during World War I. On this day seventy-three years ago, after World War II had ended in Europe, he was promoted to […]

Last evening, Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, executive editor of Foreign Affairs, spoke about George C. Marshall’s 13-month mission to China, which is the subject of his recently published book The China Mission: George C. Marshall’s Unfinished War, 1945-1947. Kurtz-Phelan kicked off the “Friends” in High Places sequence of the Marshall Legacy Series, by offering new insights into […]

Next week, students from all over the world will descend on Washington, D.C. to participate in the 91st Scripps National Spelling Bee. This year’s contest has 516 spellers who are competing for the $40,000 prize. Throughout the week the students will experience both great excitement as they move on to another round and great agony […]

In light of the devastation caused by hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the growing visibility through partnerships with other large organizations such as Walmart, the National Football League and ESPN, the American Red Cross is working hard to provide disaster relief. General Marshall served as president of the Red Cross from October 1949 to Sept […]

By: Wayne C. Thompson On September 21, 1950, George C. Marshall, who had been happily retired from national service since stepping down as secretary of state in January 1949, became America’s third secretary of defense. The post and department had been created by the National Security Act three years earlier. The young department was the […]

This post was originally published on August 5, 2016. The staff at the Foundation would like to share some of their favorite books about Marshall with you: Cathy DeSilvey, Director of Museum Operations Selected Speeches and Statements of General of the Army George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, United States Army – Edited by Major […]

Last night’s presentation of “Marshall and the President, 1943” by Dr. Nigel Hamilton was the latest program in The World Wars sequence of the Marshall Legacy Series. Dr. Hamilton is currently writing the third volume and final volume of his FDR at War series, which explores President Roosevelt’s role as Commander-in-Chief during World War II. […]

Last night at the Marshall Foundation we heard from three distinguished historians who explored some of the more popular myths of World War II. Dr. Mark Stoler, professor emeritus at the University of Vermont, Michael Adams, Professor Emeritus at the University of Northern Kentucky and Dr. Conrad C. Crane, Chief of Historical Services for the […]

The month of March often finds people dreaming of, or actually going on, vacation to take a break from cold winter weather. On March 7, 1943, Chief of Staff of the Army George C. Marshall traveled to Miami, Florida, with his wife Katherine for a week-long vacation, his first since the United States had entered […]

When the nurses in the South Pacific awoke on December 8, 1941, their commanders began issuing them steel helmets and gas masks. The once-coveted assignment to the Philippines became one of waiting and preparing for what they believed to be Japan’s next attack. They were right. The Japanese continued their advancements, and the nurses were […]

On March 21, 1947 Mrs. Marshall gladly discussed her book Together: Annal of an Army Wife with Odom Fanning of the Atlanta Journal. Mrs. Marshall stated that she wrote the book to give “a picture of General Marshall as a human being, not as a soldier or organizer.” Her press conference won over her listeners […]

This past Wednesday, 30 November, was Winston Churchill’s 142nd birthday (he was born in 1874). The occasion was accompanied, as often is, by various dinners around the world and myriad toasts offered to the great man’s memory-and appropriately so. Winston Churchill, bon viveur, is an easy man to commemorate in such a fashion. That fact, […]

This week on social media the Marshall Foundation’s trivia question and featured artifact had to do with the only ship named after General George C. Marshall, the USS George C. Marshall (SSBN-654). The USS George C. Marshall (GCM) was a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) included in the “41 for Freedom,” the 41 Benjamin Franklin-class […]

The photo to the left titled “Private Gets in General’s Hair” ran in the The Montrose Herald, as well as many other American newspapers, in August of 1945. But the man in the photo cutting General Marshall’s hair was not his regular barber. Joseph Abbate, who had been Marshall’s barber since 1939, opened the barber […]

After serving as chief of staff of the United States Army since World War II began in Europe on September 1, 1939, General George C. Marshall resigned from his position on November 18, 1945. Several days later Marshall agreed to attend a ceremony where he would receive an Oak Leaf Cluster for his Distinguished Service […]

Frank McCarthy was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1912. After graduating from VMI in 1933, McCarthy returned to his alma mater as an instructor and then remained as alumni secretary. In the late 1930s, when Brother Rat, a comedy based rather loosely on life at VMI, became a Broadway success and a popular road show, […]

It is often mentioned that General Marshall considered the jeep one of the best, if not the best, weapons of the war. More intriguing, but still lacking complete detail, have been suggestions that he had something specifically to do with the creation of the original jeep. The evidence today seems to suggest the conclusion that […]

Like many football teams, the United States Military Academy team has its own unique pregame ritual. Before taking the field, each player places his hands on a bronze plaque displaying a quote attributed to General George C. Marshall while he was serving as chief of staff of the army during World War II. The plaque […]

The staff at the Foundation would like to share some of their favorite books about Marshall with you: Cathy DeSilvey, Director of Museum Operations Selected Speeches and Statements of General of the Army George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, United States Army – Edited by Major H. A. DeWeerd, 1945 Though there are several biographies […]

According to the U.S. National Park Service, there are conflicting views as to the origin of the name Fire Island. The island may have been named after Fire Island Inlet, which appeared on a deed in 1789, and the inlet’s name may have started as a simple spelling error. Under another hypothesis, the name originates […]

Only two weeks after the public announcement that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had appointed General George C. Marshall as the next chief of staff of the U.S. Army, Marshall found himself aboard the cruiser U.S.S. Nashville en route to his first visit to a foreign country. His destination was not Great Britain, France, the Soviet […]

Recently museum and library staff came upon Marshall’s Officer’s Pay Data Card from 1945. It was a form (WD AGO 77) on which all information relative to the individual officer’s pay and allowance, length of service and deductions and allotments was kept. This is different from a pay voucher, and it was required to be […]

Earlier this month, I had the distinct pleasure of speaking in Vancouver, Washington. This is this second year that I have attended the annual General George C. Marshall Public and Youth Leadership Awards conducted by the Fort Vancouver National Historic Trust. The Trust presents two leadership awards, in General Marshall’s name, to a senior and […]

The phrase “the most unsordid act in history” is correctly attributed to the ever eloquent Winston Churchill, but a great deal of confusion persists about what Churchill was referring to when he bestowed this title. Sadly, those who believe that Churchill used this phrase to describe the Marshall Plan are perpetuating another Marshall myth. Tracing […]

Originally published on February 13, 2015 This weekend many people will celebrate the sentimental holiday of Valentine’s Day. Sentimental isn’t a word that is often used to describe George C. Marshall, but glimpses of his romantic side appear in correspondence with his first wife, Elizabeth “Lily” Carter Coles. According to Marshall’s sister, Marie Louise Singer, […]

On the last day of this year we celebrate George C. Marshall’s birthday 135 years ago. Determined to play the hand he was dealt, he probably did not feel sorry for himself because of the somewhat unfortunate timing of this birth. In fact it is his steely resolve to push on that is one of […]

Members will receive the new magazine, MARSHALL, in the mail next week. Produced as a benefit of membership in the Foundation, the magazine features guest-written features on Marshall and the Atomic Bomb, Marshall and the Europe-First strategy for winning World War II, and Marshall and his 40-year correspondence with Rose Page Wilson in addition to […]

We began Taking Care of the Troops, the next sequence in the Marshall Legacy Series, with a talk by an Iraq war veteran and the opening of the new exhibition, “Give Them What They Need.” Disabled veteran Army SSG Luke Murphy (Ret) talked about “Blasted by Adversity,” his experiences as a squad leader of an […]

The young George C. Marshall was not a very good student. He said that his “school teachers bored him to death with dates and dry facts, even regarding as fascinating and unique a character as Benjamin Franklin.” Later he said he “came to realize the tremendous importance of a knowledge of world history to the […]

Always the innovator, Marshall sought ways to fight more effectively and efficiently. As assistant commandant of the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning in 1927, Marshall revamped the curriculum in anticipation of the next large-scale conflict that he believed would be fought differently from World War I. Curiously, he is oft quoted as saying “study […]

As we all know, George C. Marshall is a man of many parts: soldier and statesman; father and husband; diplomat. One of the less well known facts about this fascinating individual, however, is that he was also part of a fraternity, a member of the Kappa Alpha Order (KA). KA was founded at the then […]

Administrative Professionals’ Day, also known as Secretary’s Day, will be celebrated on April 22nd this year. It’s observed to recognize the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, receptionist and other administrative support professionals. Shortly before the first celebration of this non-official holiday in 1952, Mildred K. Carlson was George C. Marshall’s secretary. She served as his […]

Ask anyone what the American Red Cross does and the answer will likely include supplying lifesaving blood or disaster relief efforts during significant natural disasters. In fact, the American Red Cross does much more. In the broadest sense, the American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the […]

This weekend many people will celebrate the sentimental holiday of Valentine’s Day. Sentimental isn’t a word that is often used to describe George C. Marshall, but glimpses of his romantic side appear in correspondence with his first wife, Elizabeth “Lily” Carter Coles. According to Marshall’s sister, Marie Louise Singer, George didn’t have many girls before […]

The new year often brings resolutions. Many resolve to exercise more, eat better and become better stewards of their finances. There are also a few, like Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg, who aim to read more in 2015. General Marshall would approve of that resolution. He was a student of history and recognized the vital importance of […]

Classmates in grade school who celebrated birthdays close to the holidays deserved our sympathy. The strong pull of gravity around Christmas and Hanukkah diminished their special days that traveled in minor orbits around these behemoths. Born on December 31, 1880, George C. Marshall may have felt the same way that some of my friends felt, […]

“It is impossible for the Nation to compensate for the services of a fighting man. There is no pay scale that is high enough to buy the services of a single soldier during even a few minutes of the agony of combat, the physical miseries of the campaign, or of the extreme personal inconvenience of […]

November 11, Veterans Day, was originally called Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I, the “War to End All Wars” 100 years ago. Armistice Day underwent a name change in 1954 to Veterans Day to include our veterans of all wars. It is fitting to pay tribute to all who have served […]

  Smithsonian Museum Day Live! on Saturday, September 27, is an annual event that gives participating museums around the country the opportunity to open their doors free of charge. In a perfect world, all museums would be free, but non-profits such as the George C. Marshall Foundation receives no operational funding from the government and […]