George Catlett Marshall

George Catlett Marshall (1880-1959), born in Union Town, Pennsylvania, was educated at Virginia Military Institute in the class of 1901 and thereafter served in the United States Army. A resident of Leesburg, Virginia, from 1941 to 1959, he served his country during that time as U.S. Army Chief of Staff with the rank of General of the Armies, Secretary of State, President of the American Red Cross, and Secretary of Defense. He received the 1953 Nobel Peace Prize. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Leesburg, St. James Episcopal Church, and the Catoctin Farmer's Club, and he and his family lived at Dodona Manor, a historic residence at the eastern entrance to Leesburg. Franklin D. Roosevelt called him a soldier, statesman, patriot, and chivalrous gentleman whose high public service exemplified the noble tradition of a great school; Harry S. Truman said that more than any other individual, the United States and the free world owed its future to him and placed him at the head of the commanders of history; Dwight D. Eisenhower called him a patriot, a distinguished soldier, and the most selfless public servant he had ever met; and Winston S. Churchill said he had always fought victoriously against defeatism, discouragement, and disillusion and that succeeding generations must not be allowed to forget his achievements and example.

Leesburg, Virginia · United States