American Soldier to Receive Marshall Medal, The

Army, Aug 2004

The Association of the U.S. Army has selected the American soldier as the recipient of this year's George Catlett Marshall Medal, the association's highest honor. It will a be presented at the George Catlett Marshall Dinner at AUSA's Annual Meeting in October.

The American soldier was born on June 14, 1775, when the Continental Congress raised the 1st Continental Regiment, made up of 10 companies of expert riflemen, six from Pennsylvania, two from Maryland and two from Virginia. At the head of this small force, Congress placed Col. George Washington of the Virginia militia, whose command included the militia that had fought the British at Lexington and Concord.

Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, U.S. Army retired and President of AUSA, said of the Revolutionary War fighters: "Those 'expert riflemen/ the first soldiers of America's Army who fought bravely at the Battle of Lexington Green-the start of the Revolutionary War-and who fired 'the shot heard round the world/ are the same men and women who today are firing shots around the world, and have again answered the call to arms to defend and protect the United States of America."

Since the Revolution, the American soldier has fought at home and abroad to defend the country's liberty and its citizens' rights. Since September 11, 2001, Americans in uniform have ousted the Taliban and helped Afghanistan establish a democratic government, tn Iraq, American soldiers brought down Saddam Hussein and they continue to fight against an insurgency while a democratic government takes root.

Today's Army is deployed in 120 countries around the world, and its battle flag has 175 battle streamers, each representing a campaign in which the Army fought. In January, Time magazine selected the American soldier as its Person of the Year.

"We are proud of our men and women of all components-active Army, Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, retirees and veteranscitizen-soldiers who have served and have sacrificed to keep our country and our citizens free since before our nation fought and won our independence," added Sullivan.

The citation to the Marshall Medal calls the essence of the Army "its soldiers-trained and ready, tough, brave and dedicated to the selfless service to our nation," and cites the inscription on a statue of a soldier at the National Cemetery at Antietam: "Not for themselves but for their country," a value central to soldiers today.

The citation also includes a quotation from Gen. George S. Pattern, who said, "The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of a bearing arms for one's country. Hence it is a proud privilege to be a soldier-a good soldier ... (with) discipline, self-respect, pride in his unit and his country, a high sense of duty and obligation to comrades and to his superiors, and a self-confidence born of demonstrated ability."