Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

A George Marshall photo new to me

Tom Ricks shares a photo he found of Gen. George Marshall and some other World War II luminaries.

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080128-f-3927s-002

It is always a surprise to encounter a new photo of someone I’ve researched. I mean, while working on my current book, I think I’ve seen every photo of George Orwell a hundred times. But the other night, I came across this image of Gen. George Marshall (a real hero of mine) and some other World War II luminaries.

It is always a surprise to encounter a new photo of someone I’ve researched. I mean, while working on my current book, I think I’ve seen every photo of George Orwell a hundred times. But the other night, I came across this image of Gen. George Marshall (a real hero of mine) and some other World War II luminaries.

Btw, Frank Andrews, who is standing next to Marshall in this photo, likely would be a major figure in American history if he hadn’t been killed in an aircraft crash in 1943. He basically was being groomed to lead the Allied invasion of Europe in case Eisenhower didn’t work out. I wonder what President Frank Andrews would have been like.

U.S. Military Photo

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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