For Parents & Teachers For more information about George C. Marshall, his life, career and legacy, please see the Marshall resources page. The following list of discussion questions is provided as a companion teaching tool for Fighting Wars, Planning for Peace: the Story of George C. Marshall. When George Marshall was about to go off to college, he heard his brother telling his mother that George would be a disgrace to the family name. How did overhearing that conversation affect him? Have you ever tried harder because someone doubted you? When George Marshall was helping to train the American Army in France during World War I, he confronted General Pershing. What did George Marshall tell Pershing? Why did his friends think confronting Pershing was unwise? In the end, was Marshall’s decision to confront Pershing a good idea? Some of his colleagues proposed that George Marshall run for President. Would he have been a good President? Why do you think he didn’t want to run? To end World War II the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. George Marshall said it was the right decision as ending the war by conventional means would have also been very costly for soldiers and civilians. If you had the choice, would you have dropped the atomic bombs? George Marshall won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. In his speech he said that other people thought it was crazy that a man who was a career soldier could win a prize for peace. Marshall said that he didn’t see a problem because he was so familiar with death that he had a better understanding of why the world should strive to prevent war. Would you have given the Peace Prize to Marshall? George Marshall won the Nobel Peace Prize for the Marshall Plan which helped rebuild Europe after World War II. How do you think economic prosperity, democracy and peace are related? Where do the ideas behind the Marshall Plan still come into play today? After World War I, Germany was forced to pay expensive reparations to the victorious countries. After World War II, the Allies took a different approach. What was it and why was there a change? Looking back at his first experiences in leading his peers at college, George Marshall came to believe that if you were a leader it was very difficult to be friends with those who you were leading. Do you think this is true? George Marshall spent almost his whole career hoping to command troops on the front lines but he never did because his superiors considered him too valuable doing other things such as planning, training and organizing. How did not having "front line" experience affect Marshall's career and how did it help the career of Douglas MacArthur? How would you feel if you were very capable of doing something and wanted to make it your job but never got the chance?