Many visitors to Lexington give this museum in the grounds of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) a miss. We counsel you not to do the same, as its subject matter and exhibits are totally engrossing. Chief of staff of the US army during WWII, Marshall was described by Winston Churchill as 'the organiser of the Allied victory.' A 1901 graduate of VMI, he is perhaps best known as the creator of the $13 billion Marshall Plan for post-WWII European reconstruction.
As well as being the US army's chief of staff, Marshall was a postwar secretary of state, a secretary of defence and head of the American Red Cross. He ensured that women were involved in WWII by establishing the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and also made sure that there was no racial discrimination in the operation of the draft. His work in the arena of postwar reconstruction led to him being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.
