(1880 – 1959) General of the Army and statesman. After a long military career, including service in the First World War, the Philippines and China, Marshall became Army Chief of Staff in 1939, guiding preparations for the Second World War. Command of the European invasion went to Eisenhower, while Marshall became a close policy advisor to Roosevelt and, later, special ambassador to feuding Chinese factions for Truman. As Secretary of State (1947–9), he fostered the Marshall Plan for rebuilding Europe with North American aid; he later served as Secretary of Defense. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.