George Catlett Marshall Medal dedicated to the American Soldier

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Marshall award display dedicated to the American Soldier

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston and former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon Sullivan unveiled a display Feb. 22 recognizing the American Soldier as the recipient of the George Catlett Marshall Medal presented by the Association of the U.S. Army.

Also present for the ceremony was Staff Sgt. Norbert Lara who represented the Army at this year?s State of the Union address.

Marshall, for whom the medal is named, was the Army chief of staff during World War II and went on to serve as secretary of state after the war.

Sullivan, who retired from the Army in 1995 and is now president of AUSA, said the award honors all Soldiers.

?We had in mind to recognize everyone, men and women in the Army regardless of component,? Sullivan said. ?We made no distinction and that was on purpose. It was our goal to honor the American Soldier, past and present.?

Sullivan said all components serve equally in modern conflicts.

?When you look at someone like Staff Sgt. Lara, who lost 50 pounds, lost his right arm ? if you look at the patches on his uniform, they could be from any unit in the Army,? Sullivan said.

Preston called Lara ?the epitome of the American Soldier.?

The Army commissioned the permanent display, which is on the third floor of the Pentagon near the offices of senior Army leadership. The display shows important events in the history of the Army, highlighting the service of the individual Soldier.

AUSA formally presented the award at its 2004 annual meeting in October. Preston accepted the award, which is normally presented to an individual for ?selfless service to the United States of America.?

Past recipients of the award include General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, General of the Army Omar Bradley, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; President George H.W. Bush, General Colin Powell and Vice President Richard Cheney.

Note: By Eric Cramer WASHINGTON (Army News Service)

Sergeant Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston and Staff Sgt. Norberto Lara, 293rd Military Police Company, Fort Stewart, Ga., celebrate the unveiling of the 2004 George C. Marshall Medal award display at the Pentagon Feb. 22, 2005. The award was originally presented to the American Soldier at the Association of the United States Army conference in October in Washington, D.C.
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