Evening star., 1945-11-26

well knowing that failure would be
his full responsibility.
Statesman and soldier, he had
courage, fortitude and vision and
best OF all a rare self -effacement
He has been a tower of strength
as counselor of two commanders
in chief. His standards of charac-
ter. conduct and efficiency inspired
the entire Army, the Nation and
the world. To him, as much as to
any individual, the United States
owes its future. He takes his place
at the head of the great COM
manders of history"
Gen. Marshall's Reply.
The text of Gen. Marshall's state
ment in reply follows:
Mr.. President, I am profoundly
grateful for your citation for the
Distinguished Service Medal. /
accept it as the agent of those who
made it possible for us to stand here
today in peace and Thanksgiving
the soldiers of the great American
Army of this war.
Il know, Mr.. President. that there
is nothing can say to increase
your appreciation and affection for
these men. From the moment YOU
became our Commander in Chief
We have had the utmost support
and understanding from you. Your
leadership in the final stages of the
war made certain that both in Eu-
rope and in the Pacific, not a mo-
ment was lost to bring swift end
to the tragic calamity of this gen.
Grafton.
ITO you. the men and women of
the War Department who served
with me during the hard years of
this war, who labored month after
month WITHOUT regard to hours
and without the stimulus of excite
ment and danger or the opportunity
for personal recognition, I need say
that you did tremendous job mag
niflcently. Your work translated
the power of America into a great
Army and deployed and supplied 1t
around the world. I thank you
from the heart for your fine partner
ship and for all that you have
done for me to make the task lighter.
zs To the soldiers of the Army YOU
still in uniform and you who have
already returned to your home I. as
one citizen and one comrade, ex-
press my deepest gratitude. +
You we're the greatest protective
force this Nation has ever known.
In its direst hours, you carried the
might of America into action. You
gave to the United States its right
ful prestige among nations. And
no one knows better than you that
you did not do it alone. You know
how tremendous was the contribu-
ton Of the Nation as a whole. of
the millions of laboring men and
women whose productive efforts
supplied your munitions, of the fac
tories Of this great Nation and the
science and management that
guided their operations, of the farms,
and of the plain citizen who put
your needs above his own.
Greatest of Efforts.
But of all these efforts, yours was
~ far the greatest. You faced
1eath and swallowed fear, endured
he agonies of battle and of hearts
orn by loneliness and homesickness
md starvation for the normal life
you loved. Yet you took it-all
here was to take anywhere on the
of the world. And YOU
lad the strength and will to give
t back. give back much more than
'our enemies could take. You know
hat those who stayed behind were
no different than you. Had they
'een out front and you behind all
would have served just as you did.
That is the genius of America: that
S the strength of free people.
Most of you know how different.
how fortunate is America COM
pared with the rest of the world
This Is something those at home
cannot fully appreciate. Today
'AAAS AN"IAoA, Will SOOQ Ialt0 ana
am certain, desires to
take the lead in the measures
necessary to avoid another world
catastrophe, such as you have
Just endured. And the world of
suffering people looks to use for
such leadership. Their thoughts,
however, are not concentrated alone
on this problem; they have the
more immediate and terribly
concerns-where their next
nouthful Of food will come from.
where they will find shelter tonight
md where they will find warmth
from the cold Of winter. Along
with the great problem of main
,aining the peace we must solve
the problem of the pittance of food
of clothing and coal and homes.
Of these problems can be
solved alone. They are directly re-
lated, one to the other.
TT is to you men and women of
this great citizen army who car
ried this Nation to victory, that we