Marshall Lecture
GENERAL MARSHALL
George C. Marshall, future five-star General of the Army and Army Chief of Staff, was a Vancouver resident from 1936-38 when he commanded Vancouver Barracks and supervised the Northwest’s Civilian Conservation Corps camps. He heads the list of Vancouver’s most distinguished 20th century residents.
MARSHALL LECTURE SERIES
The Marshall Lecture is the cornerstone event of Celebrate Freedom, a program of the Fort Vancouver National Trust, in partnership with the City of Vancouver. The Marshall Lecture honors the character and principles of General George C. Marshall, who served at Vancouver Barracks as Commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade from 1936 to 1938. During his tenure as Commander, General Marshall hosted the ANT-25 flyers upon their arrival at the Army Air Corps field. The George C. Marshall Lectures focus on three phases of Marshall’s career: his time in Vancouver, his achievements as a military leader, and the impact of his work as Secretary of State. In 1953, Marshall received the Nobel Peace Prize, the only professional soldier ever so honored. The award recognized the Marshall Plan, which provided an alternative to totalitarianism, and gave Europe’s countries the economic strength by which they might choose freedom.
Marshall Lecturers
- 2013 Robert Gates, 22nd United States Secretary of Defense
- 2010 Johnathan Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service
- 2007 General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 2005 Lt. General Claude M. Kicklighter, USA (Ret) Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs
- 2003 Rear Admiral Marsha J. Evans (Ret.), American Red Cross President and CEO
- 2002 Rt. Honorable Christopher Patten, C.H., European Commissioner for External Relations
- 2002 Senator Daniel Inouye, United States Senator, Hawaii
- 2000 Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation
- 1998 Madeleine Albright, United States Secretary of State
- 1997 Bill Richardson, United States Ambassador to the United Nations
- 1996 H. Merrill Pasco, the last surviving member of General Marshall’s staff
- 1995 Ambassador Paul H. Nitze, Chairman, Washington Institute for Foreign Affairs
- 1994 Ambassador Rozanne Ridgeway, co-chair of the Atlantic Council of the United States
- 1993 General Andrew Jackson Goodpaster, who worked closely with General Marshall during WWII
- 1992 Admiral Ronald F. Marryott, President of the George C. Marshall Foundation
- 1991 General Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 1990 General Sam S. Walker USA (Ret), lived next door to General Marshall on Vancouver’s Officers Row, and whose father, Walton Walker, was Marshall’s aide.
- 1988 Dr. Forrest C. Pogue, Marshall’s biographer
