George Marshall was a career Army officer who served as general of the army and United States Army Chief of Staff during World War II. He became Secretary of State (1947–1949) and of Defense (1950–1951) and was the author of the European recovery program known to the world as the Marshall Plan; it played a crucial role in reconstructing a Europe ravaged by the war that Marshall had done so much to direct to a victorious end. In recognition of the effects of the Marshall Plan and his contributions to world peace, he received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1953. It was fitting that a NASA center – Marshall Space Flight Center – should be named after the only professional soldier to receive the prize, given NASA's charter to devote itself to the peaceful uses of outer space and yet to cooperate with the military services.