PERSONAL ODYSSEY OF JOHN R. MONTAGUE  (13 of 13)

A
Message
FROM
THE
CHIEF OF STAFF

   You are being discharged from the Army today ---- from your Army.  It is your Army because your skill and devotion have been one of the factors which make it great.  You have been a member of the finest military team in history. You have accomplished miracles in battle and supply.  Your country is proud of you.

   You have seen, in the lands where you worked and fought and where many of your comrades died, what happens when the people of a nation lose interest in their government. You have seen what happens when they follow false leaders.  You have seen what happens when a nation accepts hate and intolerance.

   We are all determined that what happened in Europe and Asia must not happen in our country.  Back in civilian life you will find that your generation will be called upon to guide our country's destiny.  The responsibility is yours.,  The nation which depended on your courage and stamina to protect it from its enemies now expects of you as individuals to claim your right of leadership, a right which you earned honorably and which is well deserved.

  Start being a leader as soon as you put on your civilian clothes.  If you see intolerance and hate, speak out against them.  Make your individual voices heard, not for selfish things, but for the honor and decency among men, for the rights of all people.

   Remember, too, that NO American can afford to be disinterested in any part of his government, whether it is county, state, city or nation.

   Choose your leaders wisely --- that is the way to keep ours the country for which you have fought.  Make sure that these leaders are determined to maintain peace throughout the world.  You know what war is.  You know that we must not have another.  As individuals you can prevent it, if you give to the task which lies ahead, that same spirit which you displayed in uniform.

   Accept the trust and the challenge which it carries.  I know that the people of America are counting on you.  I know that you will not let them down.

   Goodbye to each and every one of you and to every one of you, good luck!

George C. Marshall
CHIEF OF STAFF