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General George Catlett Marshall is broadly acknowledged as America’s most
revered and admired generals of the 20th century. Few have come close the
professionalism and officership that Marshall exemplified. Even today, Marshall can be
used as prime example of professional and principled bearings that many officers can
look to as a beacon if their moral compass has been lost. Marshall Life as both a soldier
and outside of the military created the advent of America’s rise to and acceptance of
global responsibilities. As a statesman as well as soldier, his character and
accomplishments are so exceptional that he is regularly placed in the company of George
Washington when parallels are sought.
Marshall grew up in Pennsylvania, his father owning a prosperous coal business,
decided that mining coal wasn’t for him, and enrolled at Virginia Military Institute from
which he graduated in 1901 as senior first captain of the Corps of Cadets. Nobelprize.org
states that after serving in posts in the Philippines and the United States, Marshall was
graduated with honors from the Infantry-Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth in 1907 and
from the Army Staff College in 1908. For the next 10 years, he served in several of the
posts in the U.S. and the Philippines in various posts that gave him the experience and
leadership that many World War I officers lacked. He went to France in the summer of
1917 as the director of training and planning for the First Infantry Division. In mid-1918,
he was promoted to American Expeditionary Forces headquarters, where he was a key
planner of American operations. From 1919 to 1924 he was aide to the U.S. commander
in chief, General John Pershing, from which Marshall gained much experience during the
next three years he saw service in China. Marshall taught in various army schools and
organizations from 1927 to 1936, when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
Britannica online states that in 1939 Marshall was appointed U.S. army chief of
staff with the rank of general. He directed U.S. preparations for war over two years, and
after the nation's entry into World War II in December 1941, he was chiefly responsible
for the training, organization, and deployment of U.S. troops in all sectors of the fighting,
and for the appointment of top commanders in the field as well as the staff level. Such
names Dwight Eisenhower, Lloyd Fredendall, Leslie McNair, and Omar Bradley are
some the leaders that Marshall cultivated. During World War II, Marshall was
instrumental in preparing the U.S. Army and Army Air Forces for the invasion of the
European continent. On December 16, 1944, Marshall became the first American general
to be promoted to 5 star rank, the newly created General of the Army. Characterized by
Churchill as the grand organizer of the war, Marshall would continue the war in both
European and Pacific theatres until the end of the war. Marshall would go on to work as
the Secretary of Defense and would win a Nobel Peace prize for his work with the
Marshall plan.
By studying Gen. Marshall, we can find many marks of excellence and continued
successes through his career. Marshall was an excellent organizer to say the least because
he had a standard to live by. Gen. Marshall looked up to leaders in his day such as
Pershing, who was a great general of World War I. Marshall analyzed Pershing and
figured out what he needed to do to become successful. We must constantly be looking
for areas in our life that we can improve upon. A great leader is never happy with where
he is. A great leader is constantly looking for ways to improve himself and those who
look up to him.
Bibliography
"George C. Marshall - Biography." Nobelprize.org. 18 Feb. 2009 .
"George Catlett Marshall -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. 18 Feb. 2009 .
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