The George C. Marshall Foundation in

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

, was commissioned by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

in order to preserve the papers of General

George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

. Marshall served as Army chief of staff, secretary of state and defense and received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

in 1953 for the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

The Foundation

The Foundation is located on the Post of the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

, and contains a library, archive, and administrative offices. Dedicated on May 23, 1964, a large ceremony was held with soldiers and statesmen in attendance. Presidents

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

and

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

spoke at the ceremony. Its first president was General

Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. Bradley ...

. Members of the original board of directors included

Robert A. Lovett Robert Abercrombie Lovett (September 14, 1895May 7, 1986) was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, having been promoted to this position from Deputy Secretary of Defense. He served in the cabinet of President of the United States, Presi ...

, Dr. Forrest C. Pogue and General Frank McCarthy.

George C. Marshall Museum & Library

The Marshall Museum displayed exhibits of Marshall's life and work in the entry hall and two adjacent galleries, one focused on his military career and the other on his achievements following World War II. In August 2019 the foundation planned to renovate the museum, although construction never moved forward. In January 2021 the Marshall Museum closed its doors. A small collection of artifacts are to be kept by the Foundation while the rest will be sent for permanent display at other museums. The Marshall Research Library covers United States military & diplomatic history between the years of George Marshall's career as a military officer and public servant, roughly 1900-1960. Along with sorted paper collections, the library contains more than 23,000 manuscripts, two million documents including many from the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

, hundreds of era maps, thousands of photographs, 700 posters from all countries involved in both World Wars, films, and over 250 oral histories.

References

External links

The George C. Marshall FoundationThe George C. Marshall Foundation gallery
''Google Arts & Culture''
Gates Receives George C. Marshall Award
''Department of Defense Photo Essay'' {{Authority control Marshall, George C. Libraries in Virginia Library buildings completed in 1964 Military and war museums in Virginia Museums in Lexington, Virginia Organizations established in 1953