in the late summer of 1919, general pershing bid farewell to france and boarded for america.him went general marshall. proud of the reputation he had acquired as a planning military brain, disappointed in the fact he'd been considered too valuable to spare for the combat command he coveted. pershing recommended marshall's promotion to brigadier, but the war's end prevented it. the two things most important to a professional soldier's career, command and promotion, had been denied marshall either through unfortunate timing or the talents he possessed were considered too precious to squander on the battlefield. marshall's return was a time of triumph and frustration. he had learned the business of war in a tough school and knew it as few others did. but there was small pleasure in the knowledge. long after the noise and the shouting when this gay harbor scene had passed into memory and the world would once again take up arms, marshall would be ready. but as the leviathan docked in new york, he was still an obscure staff officer with a cinder in his eye. following pershing meant

exemplified by one of the association's key founders, and that would be, of course, general john "blackjack" pershing. it is a pleasure to see in the audience so many whom i have served on the battlefield in the past decade. a mix of former and current reservists, members of rotc over there, i hope you're getting credit for this for a class. they who will, of course, lead the next generation of reservi t reservists and i salute all of you for your selfless dedication an service to our country. i also thank the association for taking on an issue of interest in my household, particular interest, ensuring that a number of programs for our military families are well supported. as some of you may know, my wife, holly, is an assistant director of the consumer financial protection bureau, and she is helping to lead the fight against financial rip-offs that target our troopers and their families. [ applause ] thanks. i will note that that was an applause line. to her, that is. but as all of you know, bullets and ieds make no distinction downrange between those of the reserve and active components of our mili