George C. Marshall was born in Uniontown on Dec. 31 1880 and died on Oct. 19 1959. He became a five-star general and served as Army Chief of Staff from 1939 to 1945, Ambassador to China from 1945 to 1946, Secretary of State from 1947 to 1949, and Secretary of Defense from 1950 to 1951. He was the author of the Marshall Plan and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the only professional military man to be so honored.