George Catlett Marshall, Jr., known as the "Architect of Victory" in World War II, served as U.S. Army Chief of Staff from 1939 to 1945, Secretary of State from 1947 to 1949, father of the "Marshall Plan" in 1947, and Secretary of Defense from 1950 to 1951. In 1953 he became the first soldier so honored as a Nobel Peace Laureate. Both of General Marshall's parents were born in Augusta.