The Audie Murphy Chapter of the World War II History Roundtable will present a lecture by historian Dr. Steven Taaffe at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum in Greenville.
Taaffe’s lecture is entitled “George Marshall’s Generals: Selecting the Men Who Won World War II.” Gen. George Marshall served as the US. Army Chief of Staff from 1939 until 1945. During that time, final approval of all generals appointed to active-duty commands in both the European and Pacific theatres was his. Marshall also won the Nobel Peace Prize for creating the Marshall Plan to rescue a bankrupt Europe after WW II.
Taaffe is professor of American military history at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. Taaffe, who is in his 22nd year at SFA and was recently named the university’s Regents Scholar for 2022-23, has written eight books, most of which have centered around generals in various wars.
Thursday’s event is free and the public is invited. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session. The Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum is located at 600 Interstate 30 East in Greenville.
Taffe spoke with KETR’s Mark Haslett today about Gen. Marshall and the process of researching the 38 U.S. Army generals appointed by Gen. Marshall during his tenure as Chief of Staff. The audio of that conversation can be heard in the player above.