Nice Day at VMI

VaTom

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I live about 45 minutes from Lexington, Va where Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is located. Yesterday I went to a showing of the movie "Oppenheimer" at the George Marshall Leadership Center. The actor who played General George Marshall was there. General Marshall went to VMI and General Patton spent a year there before West Point. The Oscar in the picture is from the movie Patton that the Director was awarded. It is on permanent loan to the George C. Marshall foundation. If you are travelling I-81 past Lexington it is worth a stop at VMI. Great firearms collection at the Post Museum there.
 

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My wife's grandfather graduated from VMI in the class of 1903. When he was a freshman he was assigned a senior to be his mentor. It was George C. Marshall. He was there when Patton attended. I never knew him, but those who did said he greatly admired General/Secretary Marshall and despised Patton.

Many years after the wars and when they were long retired he and General Marshall renewed the friendship when Marshall retired to Pinehurst, NC.
 
Spent a lot of time around Lexington and VMI while our middle son was there, haven't been back since 2021. Will be there this year for his Rat's graduation.
 
My boy the helo pilot commissioned out of the "I" in 2000. We had some memorable times there for four years.
On one visit, he took me over to the Marshall Library, introduced me to the librarian, who then opened a massive safe door, which led into the living room sized vault where Marshall's papers are kept. My boy said "Show him something interesting" and she dug into a file cabinet, and came out with a folder containing a folded-in-two piece of personal sized stationery. She handed it to me, I opened the sheet flat and read it. Understand: George Marshall was a formal man and wouldn't cotton to untoward familiarity; e.g., when FDR addressed him as "George" he said "Mr. President, I earned my rank (unsaid: you're merely elected); please address me as "General."
Opening the letter dating IIRC about 1952?, it said (memory fuzzy - paraphrasing)

"Dear General,
I want to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the magnificent work of your plan for restoring Europe after the devastation of the war.
Your friend,
Winston"
That was probably the most stunning bit of history I ever laid hands on.
IMHO, they were two of the greatest men of the 20th century.
 
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The last time I visited, Stonewall's statue was there, as well as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the four cannon that went along with him as commander of the Stonewall Brigade.

The PTB have taken down Stonewall's statue a couple years ago. I don't know whether of not they've renamed the Jackson Gate to the barracks.
 
The last time I visited, Stonewall's statue was there, as well as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the four cannon that went along with him as commander of the Stonewall Brigade.

I have a tshirt of those from the museum. Above the picture says The Four Apostles.
 
Thanks for posting!

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