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The George C. Marshall Research Foundation
By Tina C. Jeffrey 
In Lexington, across from the Virginia Military Institute barracks where Cadet G. C. Marshall lived six decades ago, there will rise in the near future the George C. Marshall Research Foundation library, and impressive and towered structure almost two hundred feet long. 
Like the soldier-statesman for whom it is named, it will be plain, perhaps even austere, on the exterior. But, inside, it will contain a wealth of information, documents, and warm memorabilia of the great general who helped mold the history of our times.
The story of the foundation began in May, 1951, when V.M.I. honored its most distinguished alumnus with a special day [The Commonwealth, June, 1951, page 21]. General Marshall, then Secretary of Defense, came to Lexington, and received the plaudits of a large group of friends, admirers, and colleagues, including a dozen of his "brother rats" of the class of 1901. An archway in the new barracks was dedicated to him, and Governor John S. Battle presented him with the Virginia Distinguished Service Medal. Bernard Baruch, in the principal address of the day, paid tribute to General Marshall as the first global strategist. It was altogether a memorable day.
Afterwards, some of his friends spoke of a more definite means of preserving Marshall's influence. With the consent of the general, and the blessing of the President, who promised to release pertinent governmental documents, the Marshall Research Foundation was chartered in Virginia in 1953. Its first president, and prime mover, was Richmond investment banker, the late John C. Hagan, Jr. He headed the foundation from its inception until last September, when he became chairman of the board-a position he held until his death in November, 1959. General Omar Bradley is now president of the foundation. 
The stated purposes of the foundation are threefold:
1.To collect and preserve a documented record of the life and public service of George Catlett Marshall; to collect, preserve, document, and display articles of interest connected with the career of George C. Marshall; and to make such records and articles available and accessible to duly qualified historians, researches, and students. 
2. To acquire establish, and operate properties in which such documents and records may be kept preserved, and dis-

(Picture of General Marshall)
General Marshall declined a million dollars for his memoirs; instead, he gave his private papers to the foundation and decreed that any profits derived from publication of the papers should go to the foundation. 

played, and in which such activities can be conducted as shall promote or aid in the accomplishment of the purposes of the corporation. 
3. To conduct research into the records and documents, and to publish the results of these studies. 
President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his support to the foundation when he became chief executive, and he has taken steps to expedite the availability of documents that will benefit the foundation's program. A vast store of papers, most of which have never been made public, associated with General Marshall's service in the various governmental departments, is being turned over to the George C. Marshall Research Center, as they are declassified. 
General Marshall himself gave inestimable assistance in the formation of the foundation. In deeding his private papers of half a century, he bestowed a rich gift upon the students and historians, soldiers, and statesmen of tomorrow. It is a gift rich in the most literal sense, for he was offered- and would not accept- a million dollars for his memoirs alone. He also gave many hours of recorded interviews to the foundation, as he discussed fateful years, important decisions, and history in the making. Steadfastly declining to publish anything which would result in private gain for himself, he decreed that any funds from commercial publication of his papers should be turned over to the foundation. 
In the early part of 1956, after much spadework, the foundation became a going concern when John D. Rockefeller, Jr., donated $150,000 to start the Center's program and to hire a staff. Dr. Forrest C. Pogue, noted military historian and scholar, was soon named director of the center. From temporary headquarters in Washington, D.C., he has begun the compilation of material relating to General Marshall's half century of service to the nation. 
In selecting Dr. Pogue to direct the work, the foundation chose well. A former college history professor, he is the author of The Supreme Command, the official account of SHAEF and General Eisenhower's World War II campaigns and decisions in northwest Europe. He also coauthored The Meaning of Yalta. His knowledge of military history has stood him in good stead during the past three and one-half years, as he has pored over countless military documents and records and interviewed numerous military colleagues of the general's, in his job of codifying the material. 
Dr. Pogue has declared that General Marshall, in the taped interviews, spoke candidly of questions relating to strategy, manpower, war production, leadership, training, and the like. He also went into considerable detail about his early life, his training at V.M.I. and at service schools, and his service in World War I.
"It is possible from this material to reconstruct some of the factors which went into the making of a great soldier," said Dr. Pogue. "Possessed of a remarkable memory, he was able to fill in many gaps in the record. The general was slow to censure anyone and refused to deal in name-calling. he was free to give credit and was gracious in his comments on those who worked for him. I fell that we have been able to secure, through these interviews, valuable historical ma-