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Library » Subject Guides » Taking Care of the Troops


COLLECTIONS

Taking Care of the Troops

Gen. George Marshall had learned that taking care of his troops was one of the most important jobs for a commanding officer. He did not want to micromanage his subordinates, but he was interested in seeing that members of the military had the supplies they needed to do their jobs.

From Ordeal and Hope, volume 2 of Forrest Pogue’s biography on George C. Marshall:

He laid down his most famous dictum on supply when he learned during one of his trips to the field that most of the units had shortages in supplies of clothing. When he complained to his supply chiefs they showed him inventories of well-stocked warehouses and stacks of requisitions being processed. He was not impressed by the lists, reminding them that recently, after he had been told by the Quartermaster that the Fort Myer Post Exchange had socks, he had been unable to buy a pair for himself. He suggested that they deal with units in the field as if the War Department were a mail-order company trying to dispose of surplus stocks. He declared crisply, “I am interested in the soldier having his pants” (p. 110).

In a speech to the American legion in 1943, Marshall said:

My consideration is for the American soldier, to see that he has every available means with which to make successful war, that he is not limited in ammunition, that he is not limited in equipment, and that he has sufficient training and medical care; in other words, to see that for once in the history of this country he is given a fair break in the terrible business of making war (Sept. 21, 1943).

To find other items that the Marshall Foundation has on taking care of troops, search “care of soldiers” in the library catalog: https://www.marshallfoundation.org/library/results/

Digitized items in the George C. Marshall archives:

 

1-034 Report to Captain Charles D. Rhodes, July 28, 1907
1-043 Report to the Commanding General, Dept of the East, August 1910
1-199 Memorandum for General Pershing, April 9, 1923
1-320 Major Thomas W. King to the Commanding General, Fourth Corps Area, March 24, 1933
2-150 To Major General Daniel Van Voorhis, April 2, 1940
2-259 Memorandum for General Moore, September 14, 1940
2-268 To Bernard M. Baruch, September 24, 1940
2-311 N.B.C. Radio Address on the Progress of National Defense, November 29, 1940
2-397 Memorandum for General Ulio, March 20, 1941
2-400 To Westbrook Pegler, March 22, 1941
2-447 Memorandum for the Secretary of War, May 12, 1941
2-544 Memorandum for the President, September 6, 1941
2-556 Memorandum for the President, September 25, 1941
2-560 To George A. Beecher, September 30, 1941
2-562 Editorial Note on the State of Army Morale, 1941
3-069 To Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., January 22, 1942
3-217 Memorandum for the President, June 10, 1942
3-272 Memorandum for General McNarney, August 10, 1942
4-122 To General Dwight D. Eisenhower, October 5, 1943
4-161 To Rufus C. Holman, November 10, 1943
4-307 Editorial Note on WAC, March 1944
4-340 To Thomas E. Martin, April 10, 1944
4-376 Memorandum for General Persons, April 28, 1944
4-402 Memorandum for General McNarney, June 7, 1944
4-463 To General Dwight D. Eisenhower, July 23, 1944
4-627 Memorandum for General Handy, December 28, 1944
41.04.02 Chaplain’s Conference
41.04.18 To Col Tobin From Marshall; Disease
5-090 Remarks at Annual Conference of Supervisory Chaplains, April 5, 1945
5-141 Memorandum for General Weible, May 20, 1945
5-170 To Robert Woods Bliss, July 10, 1945
5-256 To William R. Arnold, October 24, 1945
5-276 Speech to the Salvation Army, November 18, 1945
5-570 To the Acting Secretary of State, October 5, 1946
A shepherd in combat boots : Chaplain Emil Kapaun of the 1st Cavalry Division / by William L. Maher
At his side the story of the American Red cross overseas in World War II, by George Korson
Between the lines : overseas with the Red Cross and OSS in World War II / Elizabeth Phenix Wiesner
British Army uniforms & insignia of World War Two / Brian L. Davis
Civilians watch as a U.S. Army chaplain conducts services on Palm Sunday for soldiers of the 42d Infantry Division, VI Corps, Seventh U.S. Army
Doughboy chaplain, by Chaplain Edward K. Rogers
Epley Letter – 1943 – Army Uniforms
Epley Letter – 1945 – A Mother’s Prayers
Luther D. Miller Interview Details June 21, 1962
Marine chaplain, 1943-1946 / George W. Wickersham II
Military uniforms, 1686-1918. Illustrated by John Berry
Morale-building activities in foreign armies
One of the boys but always a lady : the life of a Red Cross recreation worker in combat troop camps in Australia during the war with Japan / Lillian Jones Dowling
Regimental recreation officer’s guide, United States Army / prepared by the Morale Branch, War Department, Washington, D.C
Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall States Importance of USO
The American Red Cross : the first century / written and edited by Patrick F. Gilbo
The American Red cross in the great war, by Henry P. Davison ..
The American Red Cross, a history
The Army Chaplain’s Part in the War
The Chaplain, His Place and Work
The Nazi “88” made believers, by Chaplain H.P. Abbott..
To Father Will From Francis
U.S. Army uniforms of the Korean War / Shelby Stanton
Uniforms of the United States Army. [1st-2d ser.]
Uniforms, weapons, and equipment of the World War II G.I. / by Stephen W. Sylvia & Michael J. O’Donnell
Verifax 3717 To Marshall From FDR; Civilian Hotels
Xerox 2606 To Mr. Nelson From Marshall; Disabled Personnel
Xerox 2607 Elizabeth Daily Journal
Xerox 2607 Protection of Moral Standards
Xerox 2937 Candidate for Appointment to Chaplain

Collection Formats:

War Department Chiefs and Executives, October 19,
Collection: F. Gorham Brigham Collection

Documents


Organization Chart Offices of the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff & Secretary, General Staff, September 15,
Collection: F. Gorham Brigham Collection

Documents


Organization Chart Offices of the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff & Secretariat, General Staff, March 1,
Collection: F. Gorham Brigham Collection

Documents


Statistics Branch War Department General Staff organization chart
Collection: F. Gorham Brigham Collection

Documents


Secretariat, War Department General Staff, June 7,
Call Number: GCM 7890 Collection: F. Gorham Brigham Collection, George C. Marshall Photographs

Photographs


Handshake after award from Gen. George C. Marshall, 1945
Collection: F. Gorham Brigham Collection

Photographs


Legion of Merit awarded by Gen. George C. Marshall, 1945
Collection: F. Gorham Brigham Collection

Photographs

Legion of Merit awarded by Gen. George C. Marshall


Newspaper clipping of Pershing attending Brown-Marshall Wedding, October 12,
Collection: George Catlett Marshall and Katherine Tupper Marshall Collection

Notice of Marshall-Brown wedding


Invitation list to wedding of Katherine T. Brown and Lt. Col. George C. Marshall, 1930
Collection: George Catlett Marshall and Katherine Tupper Marshall Collection

Documents

Inivtation list to the wedding of Katherine T. Brown and Lt. Col. George C. Marshall


Marshall Day at Virginia Military Institute, May 15,
Author: Virginia Military Institute
Collection: George C. Marshall Collection

Documents

Marshall Day Virginia Military Institute


Research Support

The library and archives are available by appointment during our initial reopening.

Please contact the Director of Library and Archives, Melissa Davis, at 540-463-7103 ext 122 or send an email.

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