George C Marshall served as the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense of the United States. He was instrumental for the U.S army’s and air force’s invasion of continental Europe in World War II and was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for formulating a plan for the economic recovery of Europe once the war ended.
Marshall was a veteran general who is also regarded as the architect of U.S victory in the second World War. His quotes about the war, world peace and military inspired countless. In this article, we will provide you with the 50 best quotes by George C Marshall.
1. “The law does not expect a man to be prepared to defend every act of his life which may be suddenly and without notice alleged against him.”-George C. Marshall
2. “The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it. It is the creature of their will, and lives only by their will.”-George C. Marshall
3. “The power to tax is the power to destroy.”-George C. Marshall
4. “The Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.”-George C. Marshall
5. “…the particular phraseology of the Constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the principle, supposed to be essential to all written constitutions, that a law repugnant to the Constitution is void; and that courts, as well as other departments, are bound by that instrument.”-George C. Marshall
6. “If you get the objectives right, a lieutenant can write the strategy.”-George C. Marshall
7. “I am N!ai. When the white people first came, I was already a young woman with breasts. Before the white people came, we did what our hearts wanted. We lived in different places, far apart, and when our hearts wanted to travel, we traveled. We were not poor; we had everything we could carry. No one told us what to do.Now the white people tell us to stay in this place. There are too many people. There’s no food to gather. Game is far away, and people are dying of tuberculosis. But when I was a little girl, we left sickness behind us when we moved.”-George C. Marshall
8. “What I learned at VMI was self-control, discipline, so that it was ground in. I learned also the problem of managing men.”-George C. Marshall
9. “We have walked blindly, ignoring the lessons of the past, with, in our century, the tragic consequences of two world wars and the Korean struggle as a result.”-George C. Marshall
10. “When a thing is done, it’s done. Don’t look back. Look forward to your next objective.”-George C. Marshall
11. “The most important factor of all is character, which involves integrity, unselfish and devoted purpose, a sturdiness of bearing when everything goes wrong and all are critical, and a willingness to sacrifice self in the interest of the common good.”-George C. Marshall
12. “If man does find the solution for world peace it will be the most revolutionary reversal of his record we have ever known.”-George C. Marshall
13. “Go right straight down the road, to do what is best, and to do it frankly and without evasion.”-George C. Marshall
14. “It is not enough to fight. It is the spirit which we bring to the fight that decides the issue. It is morale that wins the victory.”-George C. Marshall
15. “Keep your wits about you and your eyes open; keep on working hard; sooner or later the opportunity will present itself, and then you must be prepared both tactically and temperamentally to profit by it.”-George C. Marshall
16. “Don’t fight the problem, decide it.”-George C. Marshall
17. “Military power wins battles, but spiritual power wins wars.”-George C. Marshall
18. “The only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it.”-George C. Marshall
19. “The soldier’s heart, the soldier’s spirit, the soldier’s soul, are everything. Unless the soldier’s soul sustains him he cannot be relied on and will fail himself and his commander and his country in the end.”-George C. Marshall
20. “I can’t expect loyalty from the army if I do not give it.”-George C. Marshall
21. “I hope with every fiber of my being that the horrible effect on civilian communities of recent air attacks will shock the civilized world into taking joint measures guaranteeing the immunity of such communities against bombing attacks in the future.”-George C. Marshall
22. “Morale is a state of mind. It is steadfastness and courage and hope. It is confidence and zeal and loyalty. It is élan, esprit de corps and determination. It is staying power, the spirit which endures to the end—the will to win. With it all things are possible, without it everything else, planning, preparation, production, count for naught.” -George C. Marshall
23. “War is not an easy game to play and you can’t always win.”-George C. Marshall
24. “My consideration is for the American soldier, to see that he has every available means with which to make successful war, that he is not limited in ammunition, that he is not limited in equipment, and that he has sufficient training and medical care; in other words, to see that for once in the history of this country he is given a fair break in the terrible business of making war.” -George C. Marshall
25. “We must proceed in the most businesslike manner possible to make this war so terrible to the enemy, so overwhelming in character, that never again can a small group of dictators find a sufficient following to destroy the peaceful security of a civilized world.” -George C. Marshall
26. “War is the most terrible tragedy of the human race.” -George C. Marshall
27. “The Secretary of War, Mr. Stimson, and I, and others in responsible places in the War Department, are keenly sensitive to the daily casualties we are suffering. Our constant effort has been so to conduct this war that it can be brought to a successful conclusion with a minimum of American casualties. The greatest economy will be obtained by the early termination of the fighting. We must never give the enemy a moment to recuperate his strength, to regain his balance, and the urgent requirement for replacements, strong and vigorous, must be met if we are to be successful.” -George C. Marshall
28. “I have on several occasions stated the simple fact that in a democracy no foreign policy or national participation in any international movement can succeed unless it enjoys the solid support of public opinion. The role of women in the formulation of public opinion, especially in this country, is so obvious that no man would have the temerity to question it. It follows, therefore, that the women of this country have a most important role to play in the development of public understanding of the world problems which face the United States. Women’s organizations and women individually of this country should realize that the contribution they can make to the solution of world problems is of inestimable value.” -George C. Marshall
29. “As I look back through the years it was much more fun being a cadet than any other experience I had during my lifetime. Also the associations and friendships of those days have lasted with me all of my life.”-George C. Marshall
30. “Any good job has its critics. If it didn’t have critics, I’d be suspicious.” -George C. Marshall
31. “If leadership depends purely on seniority you are defeated before you start. You give a good leader very little and he will succeed; you give mediocrity a great deal and they will fail.” -George C. Marshall
32. “They seemed to me to indicate a state of mind that I know from long experience is very unfortunate in this world and is not the way to get across in the long run. You have to save your ammunition for the big fights and avoid a constant drain of little ones.”
33. “The one great element in continuing the success of an offensive is maintaining the momentum.” -George C. Marshall
34. “The refusal of the British and Russian peoples to accept what appeared to be inevitable defeat was the great factor in the salvage of our civilization.” -George C. Marshall
35. “I need not tell you that the world situation is very serious. That must be apparent to all intelligent people.”-George C. Marshall
36. “The hardest thing I ever did was keep my temper at that time.”-George C. Marshall
37. “The truth of the matter is that Europe’s requirements for the next three or four years of foreign food and other essential products — principally from America — are so much greater than her present ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help or face economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.”-George C. Marshall
38. “Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.” -George C. Marshall
39. Discussions without end have been devoted to the subject of peace, and the efforts to obtain a general and lasting peace have been frequent through many years of world history. -George C. Marshall
40. “I cannot afford the luxury of sentiment, mine must be cold logic.” -George C. Marshall
41. We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, Our Flag will be recognized throughout the World as a symbol of Freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other.” -George C. Marshall
42. “I was very careful to send Mr. Roosevelt every few days a statement of our casualties. I tried to keep before him all the time the casualty results because you get hardened to these things and you have to be very careful to keep them always in the forefront of your mind.” -George C. Marshall
43. “Its purpose is to avoid war, not to provoke it.” -George C. Marshall
44. For the past ten years conditions have been abnormal. The feverish preparation for war and the more feverish maintenance of the war effort engulfed all aspects of national economies. -George C. Marshall
45. “We must stop setting our sights by the light of each passing ship; instead we must set our course by the stars.” -George C. Marshall
46. “Not one American soldier is going to die on that goddamned beach.” -George C. Marshall
47. “I recognize that there are bound to be misunderstandings under the conditions of wide separation between your countries and mine. But I believe the attitude of cooperation has been thoroughly proven.” -George C. Marshall
48. “The most important thing for the world today in my opinion is a spiritual regeneration which would reestablish a feeling of good faith among men generally. Discouraged people are in sore need of the inspiration of great principles. Such leadership can be the rallying point against intolerance, against distrust, against that fatal insecurity that leads to war. It is to be hoped that the democratic nations can provide the necessary leadership.” -George C. Marshall
49. “ I have done my best, and I hope I have sown some seeds which may bring forth good fruit.” -George C. Marshall
50. “If we proceed in this manner, there should develop a dynamic philosophy which knows no restrictions of time or space.” -George C. Marshall
