Statement

Today, we celebrate the birthday of General George C. Marshall, Jr., an American titan whose bold leadership, strategic brilliance, and unceasing devotion to freedom helped save our Nation—and the entire world—from the forces of evil, tyranny, and ruin during the Second World War.

General Marshall was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where from a young age his father instilled in him the noble values of honesty, integrity, and duty—virtues he embodied throughout his life. General Marshall felt a calling to serve his Nation, graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 1901 and commissioning into the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant.

He rose to prominence in the military during World War II, where he served as chief of staff of the United States Army and played an indispensable role in securing victory for the Allies. Through his disciplined leadership and tactical brilliance, he recruited, trained, and equipped the largest ground and air force in our Nation’s history, growing America’s ranks from 200,000 to more than 8 million men and paving the way for the eventual defeat of the Axis powers.

After the war, he cemented his legacy as a world-renowned diplomat, serving as Secretary of State and then Secretary of Defense under President Harry Truman, where he was the chief architect of the “Marshall Plan,” a monumental initiative for postwar European recovery on America’s terms. This heroic vision solidified America’s global leadership and saved Europe from economic collapse and communist takeover. As a result of his sweeping actions to recover the European economy, General Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.

Today, my Administration is proudly carrying forth General Marshall’s incredible legacy, including by restoring a foreign policy of peace through strength and rebuilding our Nation’s military. Already, we have secured a series of major peace agreements between countries marred by decades of conflict, and we have restored our military as the biggest, strongest, most feared, and most lethal fighting force in the world. As President, I will continue to put American lives, interests, and values first—and I will never stop working to achieve a future free from war.

On what would have been General Marshall’s 145th birthday, we celebrate his heroism, bravery, and acumen. We proudly remember him as one of the greatest military and diplomatic minds the world has ever seen. Above all, we recommit to his vision of global peace and prosperity, and we pledge to continue to lead the world with a righteous moral clarity and an unwavering resolve.