George Marshall

Defender of the Republic By; David L. Roll This is a 600 page tribute to a great American who devoted his entire life in the service of his country. He was considered one of our greatest military heroes who were never given the opportunity to lead an Army in combat. Early on he became known for his organization skills. It was his responsibility to take raw recruits during WW I and turn them into soldiers. When he arrived in France the seminal achievement was a massive shift of an American Army in the night to take the offensive against Germany in the battle of Meuse-Argonne in September 1918. The success is credited with bringing to an end the hostilities. During the 30 years before the onset of WW II he was a mainstay in keeping our very small army intact. After Pearl Harbor he was invited to a conference with President Roosevelt. The President proposed spending the bulk of funds provided on aircraft. All in attendance except Marshall agreed. Marshall insisted that the Army not be neglected stating that in the end soldiers on the ground would be required, no matter how successful air power might be. It was then that FDR knew he needed Marshall to lead and named him Chief of Staff. Marshall was a strong supporter of the Germany first strategy and pushed for an invasion of France by 1943. Churchill was adamantly opposed believing that unbloodied soldiers could not stand up to the experienced Germans. With the need to relieve the pressure on Russia and to take some action in 1942, the president authorized the attack on North Africa. When that action was completed the president offered Marshall the command of the invasion force to France. Without displaying any emotion he said it was up to him to decide. As a result the command was given to Eisenhower. FDR said publicly he could not sleep if Marshall wasn’t in Washington. The new President Truman asked him to stay on to finish the war. He resigned as the Japanese surrendered. He was called back to serve as Secretary of State. It was in this position that the Marshall Plan was enacted. He is given credit for persuading Congress to spend Billions for Europe to help them recover from the devastation of the war. This was successful. Part of the plan was to require the European nations to work together to distribute the funds where needed the most. It is believed that this led eventually to the creation of the European Union. He served as special envoy to China for a year to try to create a government composed of both sides of the conflict. In this he was unsuccessful. He spent a short time as President of the Red Cross but was asked to return when the Korean conflict started. As it wound down he was in agreement that General MacArthur needed to be recalled due to his strong opposition to civilian leadership. All through his life he was a steadying influence and did whatever was required. He was a great American who needs to be remembered for his dedicated service. Jack B. Walters November 3, 2019