Good afternoon. Im the Deputy Director of the library and thank you so much for being here for the roosevelt reading festival. The 16th annual. President roosevelt would be a very happy man to see some and people here today. What we call was about whether because it seems to break in our favor only special days like this. Also, we would ask and love for you to become members if you would like because membership helps support these wonderful programs and if you would like to our colleague lauren is author and she will help you out. If you have not been to the dday exhibit, about fdr and churchill please go over and take a look. It is really special and we are showing things that have not been on exhibit before. I will go over some of the basic rules. You know by now you are out there for other sessions from their we will go out to the lobby where books will be available for purchase and signing. I will introduce our author david roll who is a familiar face with his research and he is also George Marshall defender of the public and Harry Hopkins in the forging the lines of hitler. He is a senior counsel in Washington Law Firm in washington, d. C. And a non resident fellow at the german marshall fund. An founder of the pro bono foundation, a Public Interest organization that provides Pro Bono Legal services to social entrepreneurs around the world. He is an outstanding topic with George Marshall and i understand he will talk about things. I would ask, when questions begin that you step appear to the microphone and keep your questions brief and concise so the answers can be what we appreciate all the questions. Without further ado. [applause] david roll thank you very much for being here. The queue so much pain i was here in 2014. I love the researcher. George catlett marshall remembered a federal as the man with a plan, a Marshall Plan of course and he might speak of George Preston marshall, a former owner of the washington redskins. [laughter] in the mist of our divorce preston marshalls wife complained, and never demand without a plan. [laughter] when George Lee Marshall was secretary of state in spearheading what they call then the European Recovery Program through Congress Later to be called the Marshall Plan. Clark clifford, trumans advisor recommended the plan be called the truman plan. At the time trumans approval numbers as they always were were in the tank. So here he truman responded to the recommendation and he said, if i send the plan up to the hill with my name on it it will go belly up and die. Even though worst republican sure would vote for the plan if marshalls name was attached to it. He was right. By the middle of the 20th century marshall was a respected public figure in america i will dispatch with his accomplishments, setbacks, mistakes, you know a lot about physical bushmans and sophisticated audience. And also i have a limited time. I want to talk about two things that prevail throughout the book. The first thing, marshalls interlife, the second theme is his character. And i was able to develop this because correspondence was donated to the library to the George C Marshall library and lexington virginia for the recently and also because a box of documents that was stored beneath a bench in the northwest massachusetts farmhouse on the Connecticut River and that box was loaned to me for some months. So, int in her life, most writes have portrayed marshall as a coolie and personal the stoic, aloof as if he lacked feelings or was less then a real hole natural person. But it turns out, that in the presence of his family and friends, unmasks in the presence of his family in france, he led a rich interlife and the life the phone completion and his relationship with his two wives, a precocious young girl, a head strong stepson and a handful of other friends. Let me start, marshall met his first wife, her name was lily carter coal and i in the fall ad lexington virginia, that was the year he served as first captain of the entire cadet corps. Lilly was a stunning woman, there was no other way to describe her. She was a most is call as george. Full bosom with a narrow waist, funloving, very witty and adventurous. George fell in love after a few weeks and he wrist the dmi by violating the law and rules and ran up to her house in the evenings where she lived with her mother. On their wedding night in 1902 marshall learned that lily could not risk pregnancy due to a heart condition. The childless couple mustve had exchanged dozens if not hundreds of letters in the 25 years of marriage. None survived, lots were destroyed. But one survived and was given to the Marshall Library. It was written in 1917. By George Parshall to lily when he was in france in the First World War, he had a major role in the First World War. Taking into account the youth and is him, is suggest intimacy of a sexual nature and in 1927 lily survived a risky operation to remove damaged or infected thyroid that was set to aggravate her heart condition. She survived. Days later, she was seated at her desk in the hospital in washington and writing a letter to her mother and her heart stopped. The last word she wrote was george. When george was advised of her death he lost his legendary reserve. This precocious young girl that i mentioned, this is a girl rose page that was a friend of marshalls throughout his life. But they had befriended her years before when they were living in washington. And rose visited dortch marshall right after her death and she said his voice was on the verg verge was barely audible. It was on the verge of breaking. She wrote it in a memoir. She said rosie, rosie i am so lonely. And then after that he wrote a letter to his very good friend, marshall had impressed him in the First World War and the chief of staff after world war i, he went to purging and he lost his own life and three of the four of his children in a fire. He wrote to him and said i feel so lost. I doubt i can face the future. At the end of the letter he wrote i will find a way. That is the title of one of my chapters. Several months later he found himself in rural georgia as head of the Academic Program at the fort benning infantry school, a chance to assess, evaluate teach and train many of the Army Officers that would lead the nation in the next war. For him benning was magical for him. It challenged him intellectually and gave them all outdoors in which to rise and hunt and fish. In 1929 marshall was standing in front of a fireplace in a very elegant house in nearby columbus georgia. On the chattahoochee river and a handsome woman entered the room. She was introduced to marshall her name was catherine. He struck up a conversation and marshall was impressed by her striking presence, and confidence in which she carried herself in the voice of a trained shakespeare and actress as he would later find out. She was fascinated by him. She never met a man as worldly and experienced as marshall. So they had an easy dinner. Marshall learned catherine was a mother of three, an older daughter, two teenaged sons and her lawyer husband had been murdered the year before by a disgruntled client they spent the next day together at fort benning and they departed and she went back to her house. They exchange letters during the next year. They got together at least once subject to marriage was raised. Catherine divided a test to see if the marriage would work. She invited george to spend a month with her and the two boys in italy in the month the two boys were on fire island, should a summer cottage that is an island off of rhode island. , a month that she and the two boys, her youngest, alan was sensitive but willful 15yearold. He was most affected by his fathers murder. Then he changed his mind he wrote letter to marshall. I do hope you will come to fire island, do not be nervous it is okay with me. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Signed Alan Marshall was touched deeply by the letter of the honest invulnerability of him. He formed a lifelong bond with him he loved him as if he were his own son he never had. After months on fire island she said i think its going to work. So marshall was overjoyed and he wrote another letter. He said he exalted and going to inquiry a complete family. And he asked him to repeat his best man. Your eyes and 1930s to samoset marshall at his wedding and you must imagine the crowd that was around that marriage at the time. Fastforward, well after america entered the Second World War and have been serving the stepson alan who by that time was calling marshall by his first name. Very few people do that. Stepson alan was itching to get into combat. He had graduated from the fort knox tank school, june of 43 and wearing the bars of a second lieutenant. Marshall had a reputation for not showing favoritism for his Army Officers by analogy marshall issued a highly unusual secret word, order directed alan to immediately join the First Armored division who was in north africa we city after the bottle for action, most likely in italy. Catherine found out what her husband had done and she was to talk to say the least and she told him so. Alan lee, marshall had always thought italy was not the right place for the americans to be taken the germans imports. A year earlier in the summer of 1942 marshall lost a strategic debate for the entire war, the outcome of which would mean alan and his buddies in the First Armored division would soon go to italy. Let me give you the back story. In early 1942 marshall and eisenhower were convinced that the quickest way to defeat nazi germany was to orchestrate a massive buildup of u. S. And British Ground and air force in england and that buildup would continue to increase throughout all of 42 in the first half of 43. In the summer of 43 a plan was to invade france. The shortest pathway to the heart of germany. Winston churchill and the british war cabinet agreed. That was fine with them. Then as the spring of 42 led into june of 42 they changed their mind. At that time the british army was in the Libyan Desert fighting and losing the general ronald and they were in the desert of north africa. So, Winston Churchill and the british were chief came to marshall and said, they argued forcefully that the americans should go into north africa two or 3000 miles south in the summer of 1942 and drive the germans out of north africa, marshall was opposed to what he called a peripheral strategy. He believed if the americans went to north africa there would be no invasion of france and 43 and it could be delayed indefinitely but would not happen and 43. He believed once americans got into north africa they would get sucked east into italy. He was right on both counts. So president roosevelt, marshalls commanderinchief booked the deadline between churchill and his british chief and marshall. He moved the timing out. In june of 42 he assisted marshall that the americans must fight the germans in force in the 1942 not 1943. The reasoning was the American Public opinion would not stand for delay of another year in order for the buildup in england to take place. Then he told marshall if you cannot convince the british to join the americans and invade france in 1942 convince them than the next alternative is to go to north africa. Of course marshall could not convince them. And then, roosevelt was talking to marshall and he folded his hands in mock prayer and implored marshall to please nature the invasion of north africa takes place before the midterm elections of 1942. Politics, domestic politics was in the air. Marshall was opposed. For the first two weeks of august, he engaged in a form of path of resistance. It was the lowest point of his relationship he can close to being insubordinate. By mid august of 42 he came around and wholeheartedly supported the north african invasion. As a result of the president s decision, churchill and marshall himself, stepson alan would find himself fighting of the spying of italy and the bitter winte wr of 1943 in 1944. In early 44, marshall always deny on where alan was. Through victory letters from allen and others and he got daily battle reports. He knew where alan was. In mid 1944 marshall knew that mark clarks for the army was about to break out in alan indistinct units would see serious action. May 29, 1934 george and catherine were having a breakfast at home early in the morning and they were reading a letter and alan had written it several weeks before. In which he said, my luck is held at the casino. He spent a lot of time there. Im going to be home for christmas of 1944. That was his letter. That evening, this is what catherine wrote. She said she had a dream and she could see alan as a toddler at the head of a long stairway in the house crying, calling come get me. The next morning. May 30, 1944 marshall arrived at the paragon and handed a message. Saying the day before, the day catherine had her dream that alan had been killed while leaving his tank on the road to rome. He stood up out of his turk to take prisoners ahead in the german through a grenade from the side and exploded his head and neck and killed him instantly. The marshall emerged from his office and the secretaries wrote about this. They called for his driver to take him home. He went home and slipped into kevins bedroom and closed the door. Catherine wrote that she felt a numbness when she heard this news. She did not understand georges words at the time and theres no record of how George Marshall felt but had to been profound grief. And for perhaps regret for having participated in the decisions that got alan into italy in the first base. The last letter that catherine wrote to alan was returned unopened. I was in the Marshall Library going through scrapbooks, he used to keep scrapbooks of everything. One of them iran across this letter. I had gloves on to handle documents and they pulled strips of stationary she written on. The last part of the letter she was talking about what should feed him and do when he got home. Then she wrote i will love you forever and you are maybe beeson once more. And sign mother. Across the front of the letter, envelope the word deceased was stamped by an army bureaucrat. Lets talk about character for a minute. The other thing that runs through the book and i think is the most important thing about marshall. The character was formed and shaped at the dmi when he was barely 20 years old. He entered as a 16yearold. He learned selfcontrol and discipline with ground and danbury four years later after pearl harbor marshall was still fighting to achieve self mastery. On winter nights, he would have these winter walks with catherine at night an early 42, he would talk to himself. He would say, i cannot allow myself to get angry. He had an anger problem. I cannot allow myself to look tired. I cannot allow myself to have sentiment, mine must be cold logic. Dealing with all the facts that they were in a very injury situation. Then when he was 70 fibers will marshall sent to an interviewer my biggest problem in public life was controlling my anger. There were moments when marsha marshall, president truman, when marshall was a miserable failure at controlling his anger, the conversation between roosevelt and marshall it was decembedece, 1943, the nature of marshalls character. Roosevelt beat around the bush for a while and then said do you want the command, the overload invasion do you want it . And remember at this time the americans regarded not of decisive battle of the war and marshall knew if he asked for almost certainly roosevelt would give it to him. But he demurred, he did not ask for. Instead he told the president you should make the decision on the basis of what is best for the country and you should not consider my feelings and with that, the president concluded that matter and said to marshall, i could not sleep eddies if you were out of washington. So the command went to eisenhower and that was a string board to the presidency. Whether or not marshall coveted the overlord command and many said he did or whether he thought it was in the best interest of the country for him to stay in washington, we will never know what was going through his mind and what was true. But his refusal to express his desire one way or another was a profound act of selflessness and that is the code he lived by. Secretary of war henry stinson, a lifelong presbyterian had a driver for marshalls character. He who rules his spirit is better than them who cases a city. Sitting aside self mastery, another hallmark of marshalls character is a word i have trouble pronouncing. It is magne latin for great sour generosity. When president truman was running for his first full term in 1948 marshall raised himself to the height as the magnanimous leader. He was locked in endless negotiation with the soviets over the issue of the berlin crisis and how to present it to the un. He learned that truman back in washington was about to undermine him by sending an inexperienced envoy, his friend. To moscow to negotiate directly with stalin. Marshall couldve resigned, threatened to resign but instead he considered trumans pressures. At that time he was running odds to win the election. Instead of getting all hyped up, marshall wrote a note to truman, a message that was transferred to truman and it said i understand what is worrying you and i am coming home immediately. This was magnanimity on a grand scale. In my view the mark of a great man. They say to test a mans character give him power. And over most but not all of us uss shoulder and gaining a measure of selfmastery, marshall surely passed the test. Thank you. [applause] we have a few minutes for questions. What was his relationship with his other stepson . There is a story about him. [laughter] his name was clifton, he was the older one. Marshall did not have a strong relationship with clifton. Clifton had problems with his selfconfidence. They went together to a prep school in virginia, alan was a standout wrestler and football player. In clifton was not clifton did not have bone spurs about Something Like that. I dont know where this will go. I will tell you one thing about him. Clifton was a pr during the war, he did serve but he did not go into combat as far as i can tell. But he seemed to be able to get everywhere. He was running around in north africa and so forth. But, after the war iran into this woman, she was a beauty, i did not meet her personally but talk to her on the phone. She tried out for the part for the lead actress in gone with the wind. She was one of the women that tried out for that. She did not get it but she was a richmond beauty. She married clifton. It was not a good thing. [laughter] i have letters but in any event, it did not quite work. I did not write very much that was one of the things that got set aside. Out of concern for the family and so forth it was not relevant. Hi. I did some work on a book who worked under marshall and a tremendous respect for him. While i was doing that i developed the incredible respect for marshall. I personally think is a greatest general although everybody would cite patton, marshall bedded eisenhower for his service. No wonder about your idea of them battle and where the credit is due, personally i think the strategist of the quite nice behind the scene and make things happen. If it was not for marshall we would not have won the war. Strategy marshall versus macarthur Something Like that. Marshall has said this and world war i. He wanted to command troops but he never really did with the sword or gun. But he did basically, he was in combat and world war i. He never had command of the unit. He always says that is the ultimate test of real pressure. I think in terms of the kinds of pressure he faced, dealing and weeding out the old generals at the beginning of the war, he had to fire everybody, friends, you had to be under and there is very few 50yearold, he was bringing up the young guys and felt stamina and strength and energy were going to be the key things. Those pressures were on him all the time. Dealing with congress and all the politicians but in terms he had Great Respect for mccarthy. I make that point in my book. Even the macarthur im sure marshall was not his best friend by any means. But marshall was an institutionalist and he supported macarthur and he supported his campaign in the beginning. As to whether macarthur had brilliant moments in his battles in japan and in world war i he was a superstar. So in terms of who is better of a general and who is more important. I think that is a hard thing to come to a conclusion. I believe if marshall was given command he wouldve been as good or better as eisenhower. Because of his ability, they always say eisenhower was a great politician. Marshall had the presence of power that superseded eisenhower any day. He couldve pulled off the situation as well or better. Can you comment, robert in his book on Harry Hopkins says that marshall credits him for his appointment and relationship with roosevelt. Can you comment on the relationship . It was great. Marshall had great affection for him. But he was a key gobetween between marshall and the president. Marshall did not want to get too close to roosevelt. He did not want to come appear. The only time he came appear was for the funeral. He did not want to socialize and he did not want to get into that. He used hopkins strategically forgetting the sense of what roosevelt was thinking. If anybody could figure it out it would be him. They traveled together, it was right after the war in 1942 with the first meeting in england they went with marshall had fun in scotland talking about the system in the foods they were eating and wrote notes back and forth. He was amazing and made friends with everybody. He was great friends with churchill. When he wanted to get married, his third marriage, and live in the white house with the ways marshall wrote him and said, i hope you will look after the sky. [laughter] he has the worst habits. He is so important to the country. He took time to write this in july of 42. He has great affection for men. And that is another he gets his reputation from being way above Everything Else and completely reserve and he showed his emotions with him. Next question thank yous thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations] you are watching book to be on cspan2 with top nonfiction books and authors every weekend. Book Tv Television for serious readers. Joining us on book tv as ambassador samantha power, her new book the education of an idealist, a memoir comes out in september and we want to do a