Remarks Upon Presenting to General Marshall the Chair He Had Used as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense.
GENERAL, it gives me a lot of pleasure, on behalf of the Cabinet, to present you with the seat that you have occupied as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense with such great honor and credit to the Government of the United States, and as a great help to the President of the United States.
We all join in wishing you a happy continuation of your retirement, and I cannot guarantee that you will continue to be in retirement, as I have already robbed you of your time three or four times.
Note: The presentation was made at 11:25 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House during a regularly scheduled Cabinet meeting. General of the Army George C. Marshall responded as follows:
"Thank you very much, Mr. President. I am deeply grateful. This chair will carry with it memories of what you have just said.
"This chair will also be a great reminder of my recollections and associations here with you gentlemen. And the cooperative manner in which everything was done, particularly in matters of leadership, is something I will never forget."
For the President's letter accepting the resignation of General Marshall as Secretary of Defense, see Item 222.
Harry S Truman, Remarks Upon Presenting to General Marshall the Chair He Had Used as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/231091
