second front were addressed to the united states. it was george marshall who answered. when the chief of staff visited the pacific theatre on his return from tehran, our offensive was gaining speed. island by island, we were moving in on japan. at good enough island in 1944, marshall listened to a firsthand report on the successful operations in the gilbert islands and the planned invasion of the marshalls. marshall conferred with general douglas macarthur, theater commander, as the allies were gearing up for the big pacific push that would carry them to the doorstep of japan. italy had become a slow and painful struggle. the road to rome was a long one, and for marshall and his wife, one of extreme personal anxiety. as a tank commander under patton, marshall's stepson had been engaged in the heaviest fighting in weeks. when the americans finally broke through the lines of a stubborn enemy, the young officer fought his last fight. for general marshall, the war it turned into a personal tragedy. when the spring of 1944 brought the long planned invasion of france, marshall accompanied general eisenhower and other high ranking office ears shore for inspection of the american positions on the normandy beach head. 15 stars fill this corporal's jeep as admiral king and generals marshall, bradley, and eisenhower ride out to survey the battle damage. on this trip marshall take is a few moments to visit an old friend, the ex-cavalry man, patton who has many timed torn great holes in the defenses. the chief of staff ordered the mercurial general to his original combat assignment in north africa. the subsequent performance of the troops under patton's command confirmed the general's wise choice. allied planners met again in 1944, this time at quebec. a decision was reached to move invasion of the philippines three month as head of schedule. the chief of staff was involved with the vast and complicated problem of our global supply lines. and he chose to inspect the divisions poised for the final thrust into germany. a minor slack in the line of supply at this moment could cause a major military disaster and marshall knew all the facts at both end of the line. the price of victory was far too high to risk delay. the trip to europe provided marshall with another opportunity, a chance to talk with the troops. he spoke informally to american soldiers who had faced the toughest test in history and triumphed. marshall inspected their positions, his last close look before the axis collapsed, and world war ii ended with the final capitulation of japan. when president truman presented marshall with the distinguished service medal in 1945, he said although millions gave america extraordinary service, marshall gave it victory. 1945, also saw marshall dispatched to china as the president's special representative to negotiate a truce. general eisenhower then chief of staff visited his former boss during a negotiations. this was the first time marshall officially functioned as a diplomat, but the role was not unfamiliar. although the army had been his profession, his interest had been his career. marshall received the oath of office as secretary of state from chief justice vincent early in 1947. the president enthusiastically endorsed the former chief of staff at a critical time in history. it was fairly said that mr. truman selected him, not because of his experience, but because he was marshall. >> there is nothing that i can say at this time regarding matters that per tan tain to my position in the state department. but i assume the do theiuties w great feeling of responsibility and ape very earnest desire to carry out the foreign policy of this government in the manner that has been so splendidly exemplified by my predecessor, mr. burns. my old friend. >> the new secretary brought imagination and a dignified intensity to his job which was equal to the world challenge. in march, 1947, marshall headed a delegation to moscow whose mission was the peace agreement on germany and austria. the opportunity to observe the russian bear in his native environment was valuable in view of increasing soviet hostility. russia already loomed as the largest question mark in america's future. the desperate economic plight of europe, drew marshall's whole attention upon his return. and recommendations were presented to the congress. >> europe is still emerging from the devastation and dislocation of the most destructive war in history. within its own resources, europe cannot achieve within a reasonable time economic stability. the solution would be much easier, of course, if all of the nations of europe were cooperating. but they are not. far from cooperating, the soviet union and the communist parties have proclaimed their determined opposition to a plan for european economic recovery. economic distress is to be employed to further political ends. there are many who accept the picture that i have just drawn, but raise a further question. why must the united states carry so great a load in helping europe? the answer is simple. the united states is the only country in the world today which has the economic power and productivity to furnish the needed decisions. to be quite clear, this unprecedented endeavor of the new world to help the old is neither sure nor easy. it is a calculated risk. it is a difficult program. and you know far better than i do that political difficulties involved in this program. but there is no doubt whatever, in my mind, that if we decide to do this thing we can do it successfully. ♪ >> great rubble heaps left by the war were soon diminished by an american investment in friendship and good will which proved off to be an effective economic weapon against spreading communism, the marshall plan. offered on a self-help basis, marshall plan aid allowed war ravaged countries to gain a hold, and communist plans which were dependent upon poverty and despair for success were thwarted in many parts of the world. george marshallily signed as secretary of state in january 1949 intending to relax for the first time in almost 50 years. but the red cross called upon him for one further task in the public interest when it asked to serve as head. meeting with the polio chief, marshall outlined his plans for the vast mercy organization. less than one year later, the president persuaded him to return to the government as secretary of defense. he flew to korea where he met with general ridgeway and other u.n. leaders. the man with the passion for facts was gathering them firsthand. this was a different american army than marshall had known and a different kind of war. the citizen soldier did the fighting in korea, but this time under a u.n. banner and for a limited objective. in washington, marshal assumed the critical responsibility for all of the men and material necessary for victory in korea. the peculiar circumstances of the conflict called for the existence of large american forces without total mobilization within the united states. once more, george marshall, the statesman distinguished himself. relaxation was rare for the busy cabinet member, but, to the delight of a pretty queen he did manage to officiate at the apple blossom festival in 1951. on the 50th anniversary of his graduation, vmi paid tribute to general marshall with a day named in his honor. many of his old classmates came to lexington to applaud the school's most distinguished graduate and recall their years as members of the cadet corps. after a how witser salute to the soldier statesman the body of cadets stood at attention while marshall was awarded virginia's distinguished service medal by the governor. then the man whose life represents the highest ideals of the cadet corps, inspected the ranks of men who may be tomorrow's leaders. george marshall resigned from the defense department and settled in leesburg, virginia, in 1951. his public service spanned a critical half century for our country placing him in the ranks of great american patriots. >> free at last to pursue a private life, the man with a passion for facts, will long be an example to those who follow in the army, in the government of his country, and in a peaceful world he worked so hard to make. now this is sergeant stewart queen, inviting you to be with us again for another look at "the big picture." >> "the big picture" is an official report for the armed forces and the american people. produced by the army pictorial center. presented by the department of the army, in cooperation with this station. >> our specific mission is to work to -- see to it that human rights remain a central come poen encome -- com component of american foreign policy and when we are evaluating our foreign policy moves, human rights quacan't bee only consideration. >> katrina swett -- tfo >> whether we are talking about torture as it relates to the war on terror or the reset policy with russia, you know, and, and the upcoming issue of whether or not the u.s. congress should pass the accountability act which is, we don't need to go into the details of the policy issue, whether or not we are going to stay on record as saying human rights matter. they matter in russia. they matter in china. >> more with katrina lantos swett on cspan's q & a. >> the pope has a famous way of being determined with the cardinal level post. and the pope hand picks this person. and this person -- this person decides when the pope is dead. he hits him three times on the head with a silver hammer and calls out his baptismal name three times which is carried over from the romans. the romans use that method yelling your name at you three times. although even today the pope isn't didn't tim the cardinal position says he is dead. >> on afterwards, dick tereci, describes the ever changing concept of death and organ harvesting is blurring that line. also this weekend on book tv, arlen specter on the split between old guard