(C) U.S. State Dept
This story was originally published by U.S. State Dept and is unaltered.
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World War II's 'organizer of victory' [1]
['Lauren Monsen']
Date: 2025-05-19 19:03:14+00:00
The United States is building a sculpture garden, the National Garden of American Heroes, to commemorate men and women who embody the American spirit. Meet General George C. Marshall, one of the 250 heroes whose likenesses will be featured in the garden, a place where, as President Trump says, “citizens, young and old, can renew their vision of greatness.”
When the Nazis invaded Europe in the late 1930s, the U.S. Army numbered fewer than 200,000.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt turned to General George C. Marshall, and he led the largest military buildup in U.S. history, transforming the Army into a well-equipped force of 8 million.
The five-star general’s strategic vision was so integral to the Allied war effort in World War II that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called Marshall the “true organizer of victory.”
As U.S. Army chief of staff during World War II, Marshall (1880–1959) coordinated operations in Europe and the Pacific, insisting that Allied nations work together.
Marshall served as a trusted adviser to Presidents Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and joined them at summits of world leaders. He visited soldiers at the front to “sense their reactions” to wartime conditions and to correct any incipient problems.
The Army’s top strategist, Marshall advocated for massive, concentrated attacks on German forces as the surest path to victory. The tactic mirrored his approach to life: “Go right straight down the road, to do what is best, and to do it frankly and without evasion.”
Marshall was instrumental in the planning of the June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion in northern France. Led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, D-Day established the “second front” that would see Allied forces meet their Soviet counterparts on German soil, ending the war in Europe.
A determined leader, Marshall also intervened when officers were unduly harsh toward soldiers under their command.
After World War II, Marshall served as secretary of state and then secretary of defense. As secretary of state, on June 5, 1947, Marshall proposed the European Recovery Program to rebuild Europe’s devastated economy. The program became known as the Marshall Plan and is credited with spurring the successful rebuilding of Europe. For that work, Marshall won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953, making him the only professional soldier to ever achieve that distinction.
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison and Paul Revere are also among the heroes whose likenesses will be featured in the garden.
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