A Vision of Liberty

The son of a prosperous businessman and his wife, Marshall decided to pass up the private sector and follow in his brother's footsteps as a soldier. Despite objections from his family, who wanted Marshall to embark on a business-related career path, he enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 1897. A devout Episcopalian, Marshall was reared in the tradition of the Book of Common Prayer’s poetic liturgies and appointed Bible readings. With this devout formation, the 16-year-old developed strong leadership and character traits that set him apart as a compassionate and diplomatic cadet earning the respect of both friends and detractors. By the end of his first year at VMI, Marshall earned the position of top military student in his class, and by graduation he had risen to the rank of First Captain—the highest-ranking cadet position on post.

Conscientiously nonpartisan, years later Marshall famously claimed never to have voted. He believed that military service should be beyond politics. For those who insisted on knowing his political views, Marshall simply stated: "My father was a Democrat, my mother a Republican, and I am an Episcopalian."

Upon graduation from VMI, Marshall was commissioned in 1902 as an infantry officer in U.S. Army. He served with distinction in the Philippine-American War and later in World War I. As part of the American Expeditionary Force to Europe during the Great War, he was assigned to the headquarters staff that planned American operations including the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After the war, Marshall was an aid-de-camp to General John J. Pershing, U.S. Army Chief of Staff and the most senior officer in the U.S. Army.

In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt named Marshall as U.S. Army Chief of Staff, making him responsible for increasing the size of military forces at the onset of World War II. During this time Marshall not only built and directed the largest American army in history, but he also became responsible for war strategy, including Operation Overlord, later known as the successful invasion of Normandy on "D-Day" in 1944. His peerless leadership during this time led to his promotion to five-star General of the Army. 

Marshall retired at the close of World War II in 1945, having served 45 years in the military. But his retirement was short-lived. Only a few days after he stepped down from his post, Marshall re-entered public life at the request of President Harry Truman, to serve as a diplomat. By 1947, he had assumed the role of Secretary of State, and was tasked with another great challenge in his public service career—winning the peace and bringing sustainable liberty to a devastated, war-torn Europe.

By the end of the war, an estimated 4 percent of the world population were killed by war or war-related disease and famine. World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history—80 million people had died, including 6 million systematically exterminated Jews. Of those who survived, millions became displaced persons: groups of people who were enslaved or otherwise forcibly relocated during and after the war. Approximately 11 million displaced persons existed in Germany alone, where they lived in camps awaiting repatriation to their home countries or settlement somewhere new.

As an officer during World War I, Marshall was an eye-witness to the horrific effects of crippling destitution in the aftermath of violent conflict. He learned first-hand that there can be high post-war casualties, not from bullets and grenades, but from disease and starvation. He also understood that the Treaty of Versailles, the World War I peace agreement, while delivering a brutal punishment to Germany for its role in the conflict, ultimately failed to conciliate and pacify Europe. In fact, the Treaty became prelude to another world war. The desperate post-war poverty of Germany’s population, combined with the people’s growing resentment of their European neighbors, helped pave the way for Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. The Nazi regime under Hitler ultimately led to the horror and carnage of World War II and all its nightmarish atrocities. With the advent of nuclear weapons, Marshall did not believe the world could survive a third conflict.