Gen. George C. Marshall's long and distinguished career as botha soldier and a statesman made an impression on ROTC cadets aroundthe country, including Rhonda Kendrick, a senior nursing student atThe University of Memphis.
Kendrick is one of 270 senior ROTC cadets from U.S. colleges anduniversities selected to participate in the 25th Annual George C.Marshall ROTC Award Seminar.
Creator of the Marshall Plan and a winner of the 1953 NobelPeace Prize, Marshall set standards, like academic excellence, towhich cadets still aspire today.
Kendrick, 30, was selected from a group of 13 seniors torepresent Memphis in the seminar.
"Rhonda was selected because of her academic standards," saidArmy ROTC Capt. David Green, a professor of military science at TheU of M.
Kendrick, along with other cadets, will participate in aroundtable discussion entitled "National Security Affairs," led byEdgar F. Puryear, professor emeritus at Georgetown University.
Students select a discussion from 12 topics including "TheMiddle East," "Nuclear Proliferation," and "NATO and Defenses ofEurope."
Another topic at this year's seminar is "China, Hong Kong, andTaiwan," led by James R. Lilley, former U.S. Ambassador toChina.
The George C. Marshall ROTC Award Seminar is the brainchild offormer Marshall Foundation director Fred L. Hadsel, former ArmyChief of Staff Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, and former Army Chief ofStaff Gen. Bernard W. Rogers.
The award seminar has been held in Lexington, Va., since itsinception in 1978.
Among the criteria and qualities the cadet must possess to beselected, according to Green, are "demonstration of leadership andscholastic skill that epitomized the career of Marshall."
In addition to creating the Marshall Plan, Marshall's manyaccomplishments include serving as aide to Gen. John J. Pershingfrom 1919 to 1924, President of the American Red Cross from 1949 to1950, and secretary of defense during Harry S. Truman's presidency,a position he held for a year before retiring.
Winston Churchill called him the organizer of the allied victoryin World War II.
