James C. Marshall

Brigadier General James Creel Marshall (15 October 1897 – 19 July 1977) was a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who was initially in charge of the Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb during World War II.

A member of the June 1918 class of the United States Military Academy at West Point that graduated early due to World War I, Marshall saw service on the Mexican border. Between the wars he worked on engineering projects in the United States and the Panama Canal Zone. In January 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II, he became District Engineer of the Syracuse District, and oversaw the construction of the Rome Air Depot.

In June 1942, Marshall was placed in charge of the Manhattan Project, then known as the Laboratory Development of Substitute Materials. Although superseded as head of the project by Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves Jr., in September, he was Manhattan District engineer from 13 August 1942 to 13 August 1943. In November 1943 he became Assistant Chief of Staff (G-4) of the United States Army Services of Supply (USASOS) in the Southwest Pacific Area, serving in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines.

Marshall left the Army in 1947, and moved to Riverside, Connecticut, where he worked for M. W. Kellogg Co. He later joined Koppers, building a coal loading facility in Turkey, and worked on mining projects in Africa. He was Commissioner of Highways in Minnesota from 1961 to 1965.

Early life and career

James Creel Marshall was born in Plattsburg, Missouri, on 14 October 1897, the son of Walter Scott Marshall and his wife Cora Sutphen née Creel. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1915. His classmates included Hugh John Casey, Lucius D. Clay, William M. Miley and Edwin L. Sibert. The entire class graduated early on 12 June 1918 due to World War I, and Marshall, who was ranked 24th in the class, was commissioned as a substantive first lieutenant and temporary captain in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He was posted to Camp A. A. Humphreys from 8 to 15 July 1918, and then was sent to the Engineer Officers' Training School at Camp Lee, Virginia, for additional training. While there, he married Mabel Estelle Wolff from Brooklyn. They had two children, Beryl, born in 1919, and Robert Creel, born in 1921. He was posted to Camp Sutton, North Carolina, as commander of the Engineer Replacement Training Center there until 26 November 1943. He then had his sought-after overseas service, in the Southwest Pacific Area, where he became Assistant Chief of Staff (G-4) of the United States Army Services of Supply (USASOS). He saw service in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. He was promoted to brigadier general on 10 November 1944, and awarded the Bronze Star Medal. He returned to the United States for medical reasons on 12 February 1945.