<--PREV Doc #503  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #505 Document #504; October 30, 1953 To George Catlett Marshall Series: EM, WHCF, President's Personal File 182 The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way Part III: The Space Age Begins; October 1957 to January 1958 Chapter 6: Building strength when there is "no perfect answer"   Dear General: Two items of unusual interest concerning yourself have just come to my attention. First, I learn that a slight illness will prevent your attendance at the dinner that the Greek King is giving. This distresses me, not only because you apparently are confined to your bed, but because I will be denied the opportunity of having a chat with you.1 The second piece of news is that you have just received the 1953 Nobel Peace Award. My sincere congratulations! At times, I have been completely nonplused in attempting to follow the reasoning of some of the commissions that make awards to individuals in this world--this time, I heartily approve.2 Please convey my best wishes to Mrs. Marshall and, of course, with warm regard to yourself. Sincerely 1 Marshall, ill with influenza for four weeks, was unable to leave his home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, to attend a dinner at the Greek Embassy given by the King and Queen of the Hellenes on October 30. Immediately following notification of Marshall's illness (Cable, AWF/D, Oct. 30, 1953), Eisenhower arranged for the General to be flown from his home in North Carolina to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. (see Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall, 4 vols. [New York, 1963-1987], vol. IV, Statesman, 1945-1959 [1987], p. 504). Marshall would write to the President, "I am grateful for your interest and am glad to say that I am beginning to feel better, . . . I should be on my way home the first of next week" (Nov. 2, 1953, AWF/A). On November 3 Queen Frederika would make a hurried trip from New York to Washington to visit General Marshall at Walter Reed Hospital (New York Times, Nov. 4, 1953). For background on the Greek monarchs' visit see no. 475. 2 On this same day (Oct. 30) it was announced that Marshall would receive the 1953 Nobel peace prize in recognition of his role as author of the Marshall Plan of economic assistance to Europe (New York Times, Oct. 31, 1953). In his letter to Eisenhower of November 2 Marshall would write, "Needless to say I was very much surprised by the announcement, and in accepting this recognition I do so on behalf of the American people, for it was they who made it possible." Marshall would receive the award in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 1953 (see Pogue, Marshall, vol. II, Statesman, pp. 504-7; New York Times, Dec. 11, 1953). Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To George Catlett Marshall, 30 October 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 504. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/504.cfm <--PREV Doc #503  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #505

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