Great Generals

As the war in Iraq goes from bad to worse, we miss the great generals of the past. One of the greatest of the 20th century, probably the greatest, was General George Marshall, whom Winston Churchill described as the "organizer of victory." While Marshall did not command troops in the field during World War II, he was the general in charge of the entire war. He commanded the generals.

A biography of General Marshall by Forrest Pogue begins with a foreword by General of the Army Omar Bradley. General Bradley says that during the interviews for this biography, "Fresh in [General Marshall's] mind after fifty years were the impressions he gained from visiting the sites of the French and Indian War battles fought within a few miles of his birthplace in Pennsylvania, and the impact made by the examples of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson."

It's interesting that he cites the Southern generals Lee and Jackson, rather than the victorious Grant and Sherman. Of course, part of the reason is that Marshall attended VMI, but also, Lee and Jackson were men of great moral character, unlike Grant and many of the Yankee generals. The Southerners were no doubt models for the high moral character that Marshall embodied, which stood the United States well during the trying times of World War II.

Would that we had a general of similar character to lead us in Iraq today!