Vittace oF PINEHURST ¥ HISTORY, CHARM, AND SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY. February 10, 2022 Colonel Scott A. Pence Garrison Commander Fort Bragg, North Carolina Dear Colonel Pence: The Pinehurst Village Council and |, Mayor John Strickland, respectfully request that you forward to the federal Naming Commission our recommendation that Fort Bragg be renamed Fort George C. Marshall. There are numerous reasons why General Marshall should be considered. He had a remarkable record of service to his country as a soldier and statesman; he answered the call to duty repeatedly; he had remarkable integrity and high moral character; he had outstanding skills in military maneuvers and tactics, and a strong presence and connection to the people of this area. COUNTRY Selected by Franklin Roosevelt as Army Chief of Staff from 1939-1945, General Marshall organized thousands of raw recruits into an army of more than eight million men and women, selected upwards of 200 officers who became generals, and was the dominant voice in decisions by the Combined Chiefs of Staff on grand strategy and the deployment of troops across the globe. After a year as special envoy to China in 1946, Marshall, as Secretary of State, conceived and spearheaded the European Recovery Program, which became the "ADMINISTRATION 395 Magnolia Road * Pinchuest, NC 28374 + ‘Telephone (910) 295-1900 * Fax (910) 295-4434 + wwssvopne.ong.eponymous Marshall Plan that revived the economies of Western Europe. His Plan was arguably the most significant and successful initiative in U.S. diplomacy since the Louisiana Purchase. He husbanded the containment of Soviet aggression at the beginning of the Cold War while laying the groundwork for NATO. Marshall served as president of the American Red Cross throughout 1949 and the first eight months of 1950. Then, in his capacity as Secretary of Defense after the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-51), Marshall and General Matthew Ridgway integrated, for the first time, all combat units in the Eighth Army, an historic breakthrough for African Americans. In 1953 Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his successful plan for European recovery. No American since George Washington has come-close to five-star General Marshall's 50-year career of outstanding service to his country. CHARACTER Beyond these accomplishments, Marshall should be celebrated for his strength of character, selflessness, self-mastery, humility, and magnanimity—especially in these times of divided government and heated rhetoric, He never sought credit for his deeds, never even uttering the words “Marshall Plan.” He avoided partisanship. When asked what party he belonged to, he replied, “Episcopalian.” Marshall refused to write his memoirs, though he was offered hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he declined to ‘comment publicly on fellow generals, statesmen and politicians, much less criticize them. Because Marshall's character enabled him to accomplish great things, it matters. It may never be replicated, but it needs to be remembered by today’s leaders. Replacing Bragg with George Marshall will perpetuate his legacy. CONNECTION General Marshall was first connected to the North Carolina sandhills during the 1941 “Carolinas Maneuvers." These maneuvers—war games featuring mock battles—took place over a vast triangle anchored by Ft. Bragg to the northeast, Ft. Jackson in South Carolina, and Ft. Benning further west in Georgia. More than half a million troops were involved in the exercises, nearly one-third of the U.S. Army. On November 17, Marshall arrived by plane from Florida to observe and then critique a battle between an infantry-superior force of 195,000 troops and a smaller, but highly mechanized force of 100,000, consisting of two armored, one motorized, and two infantry divisions. The Second Armored Division was commanded by General George Patton whose tankers quickly captured and imprisoned General Hugh Drum, commanding general of the ‘opposing force. On November 27, ten days before the Pearl Harbor attack, Marshall and his staff flew again to the maneuvers for a final assessment, Patton was censured for ignoring the umpires but his standing with Marshall rose sharply because he had employed the very audacity that the new army needed. In late 1944, well before the war ended, Marshall's wife Katherine, recuperating from pneumonia, bought a cottage named Liscombe Lodge at 75 Linden Road in Pinehurst. For the next fifteen years George and Katherine spent winters living in Pinehurst. As Paul Dunn, a columnist, wrote in The Pilot, Marshall “had many friends who were stationed at Ft. Bragg and, as a horseman, often rode from Pinehurst to the fort to visit the facility.” John Nagy, editor of The Pilot, wrote that Marshall “would often be seen riding on the streets and golf courses on horseback.” He attended amateur golf championships, civic club meetings, walked along the sandy paths, shopped at the A & P, and shepherded Katherine's grandsons about town, while taking visits from Harry Truman, Queen Fredericka of Greece, and Lady Astor of the British Parliament. Marshall became an honorary member of the Tin Whistles, a Pinehurst golf organization founded in 1904 that also provides four-year college scholarships to Moore County high school students. In 1959, while in Pinehurst, Marshall became ill and in the following October, he died. Upon Marshall's death, the Tufts family that founded the Village of Pinehurst, commissioned a granite memorial that is now located in Marshall Park, positioned on Carolina Vista, between the Pinehurst Country Club and The Carolina Hotel.There are countless reasons why the name “George Marshall” would be a fitting and honorable new name for Ft. Bragg. His unblemished reputation and place in history would surely add to the storied legacy of Ft Bragg Sincerely, = fe C.D hcl _ John C. Strickland, Mayor Council Members Patrick Pizzella Lydia Boesch Jane Hogeman Jeffrey Morgan