What military actions did Harry S. Truman take during World War I?

Harry S. Truman served in Battery B of the 2nd Missouri Field Artillery Regiment and later commanded Battery D of the 129th Field Artillery during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. On the 26th of September 1918, he ordered fire that destroyed an enemy artillery battery across a river, saving lives of soldiers from the 28th Division.

Why is Harry S. Truman known for investigating government waste?

Harry S. Truman chaired the Committee on Military Affairs Subcommittee on War Mobilization to investigate abuses and corruption in government contracts starting in late 1940. His committee reportedly saved as much as $15 billion and put him on the cover of Time magazine by March 1944.

What major decisions did Harry S. Truman make regarding World War II and the Cold War?

Harry S. Truman approved dropping two atomic bombs on Japanese cities in August 1945 after learning the Trinity test succeeded on July 16. He also signed the National Security Act of 1947 creating the Central Intelligence Agency and authorized creation of the National Security Agency on the 4th of November 1952.

Harry S. Truman: the story on HearLore

Q: When was Harry S. Truman born and where did he grow up?

Harry S. Truman was born on the 8th of May 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He grew up as the oldest child of John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young Truman before his family moved to a farm near Harrisonville when he was ten months old.

Q: How did Harry S. Truman enter politics after his business failed?

After his haberdashery went bankrupt during the recession of 1921, Harry S. Truman received support from the Pendergast machine to be elected County Court judge of Jackson County's eastern district on the 1st of January 1923. He later won back the position as presiding judge in 1926 and coordinated the Ten Year Plan which transformed Jackson County with new roads and a county court building.

Q: How did Harry S. Truman win the 1948 presidential election despite opposition?

Harry S. Truman won the 1948 election by securing 303 electoral votes against Thomas Dewey's 189 through a whistle-stop campaign that crisscrossed the United States by train aboard Ferdinand Magellan. Six stops in Michigan drew combined half-million people while full million turned out for New York City parade, culminating in the defining image of Truman holding aloft an erroneous Chicago Tribune front page proclaiming Dewey Defeats Truman.

Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, on the 8th of May 1884. He grew up as the oldest child of John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young Truman. His family moved to a farm near Harrisonville when he was ten months old. They later settled on his grandparents' farm in Grandview. At age six, his parents moved to Independence so he could attend Sunday School at the Presbyterian Church. He did not enter conventional schooling until he was eight years old. Truman's mother encouraged his interest in music, reading, history, and math. He learned to play the piano at age seven under Mrs. E.C. White. He woke at five o'clock every morning to practice for over an hour daily until he was fifteen. This discipline shaped his work ethic early on. The family lived through financial struggles that influenced his future business ventures. His father worked as a farmer and livestock dealer. These early years established the foundation for a life of public service.

When the United States entered World War I on the 6th of April 1917, Truman rejoined Battery B of the 2nd Missouri Field Artillery Regiment. He successfully recruited new soldiers and was elected first lieutenant before deployment. Training took place at Camp Doniphan and Fort Sill near Lawton, Oklahoma. There he met Lieutenant James M. Pendergast, nephew of Kansas City political boss Tom Pendergast. This connection would profoundly influence his later political career. In mid-1918, Truman was promoted to captain effective April 23. By July, he commanded Battery D of the 129th Field Artillery during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. His unit faced severe discipline problems initially. Truman made corporals and sergeants accountable for order. During a night attack in the Vosges Mountains known as "The Battle of Who Run," his men fled. Truman used profanity from his railroad days to shock them into obedience. They immediately obeyed and stayed to fight. On the 26th of September 1918, his battery joined a massive assault barrage. Truman spotted an enemy artillery battery across a river that threatened the neighboring 28th Division. Despite orders limiting targets to facing the 35th Division, he waited until German horses moved away from their guns. Then he ordered fire that destroyed the enemy battery. His actions saved lives of 28th Division soldiers. He received no punishment despite being reprimanded by Colonel Karl D. Klemm.

After returning home, Truman opened a haberdashery at 104 West 12th Street in Kansas City with Edward Jacobson. The store went bankrupt during the recession of 1921. Truman did not pay off the final debts until 1935 with help from banker William T. Kemper. This financial failure shaped his understanding of economic hardship. With support from the Pendergast machine, Truman was elected County Court judge of Jackson County's eastern district on the 1st of January 1923. He served until the 1st of January 1925. He lost reelection but won back the position as presiding judge in 1926. He coordinated the Ten Year Plan which transformed Jackson County with new roads and a county court building. In 1933, he became Missouri's director for the Federal Re-Employment program. In 1934, Pendergast reluctantly backed Truman for U.S. Senate after four other choices declined. He defeated Congressmen John J. Cochran and Jacob L. Milligan in the primary. In the general election, he beat Republican Roscoe C. Patterson by nearly 20 percentage points. He assumed office with the reputation "the Senator from Pendergast." He later defended patronage decisions by saying offering little to the machine saved a lot.

In late 1940, Truman traveled to military bases and witnessed waste and profiteering during wartime preparations. He used his chairmanship of the Committee on Military Affairs Subcommittee on War Mobilization to investigate abuses. A special committee formed under his leadership exposed corruption in government contracts. The White House supported this plan rather than face a hostile probe by the House of Representatives. Truman managed the committee with extraordinary skill and achieved consensus. Activities ranged from criticizing ineffective dollar-a-year men to investigating shoddily built housing projects. By March 1944, he attempted to probe the Manhattan Project but was persuaded by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson to stop. The committee reportedly saved as much as $15 billion. Its work put Truman on the cover of Time magazine and erased his image as an errand-runner for Kansas City politicos. No senator ever gained greater political benefits from chairing a special investigating committee than Missouri's Harry S. Truman. This national reputation paved the way for higher office. His ability to cut through bureaucracy demonstrated skills that would define his presidency.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt died on the 12th of April 1945. Truman was sworn in as president at 7:09 p.m. in the West Wing of the White House. He had been vice president for only 82 days when Roosevelt passed away after a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Eleanor Roosevelt told him, "For you are the one in trouble now!" Truman felt like the moon, stars, and all planets had fallen on him. On April 25, Secretary of War Henry Stimson informed Truman about the atomic bomb. Truman journeyed to Berlin for the Potsdam Conference with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill. He learned the Trinity test succeeded on July 16. In August, Japan refused surrender demands outlined in the Potsdam Declaration. Truman approved dropping two bombs on Japanese cities. Military estimates suggested invasion could take a year and result in 500,000 to 1,000,000 Allied casualties. A study by William Shockley estimated 1.7, 4 million American casualties including 400,000, 800,000 fatalities. Truman maintained attacking Japan saved lives on both sides. He later stated it saved 125,000 youngsters on each side from getting killed.

Truman supported creation of the United Nations and included Eleanor Roosevelt on the delegation to its first General Assembly. With Soviet expansion through Eastern Europe, he took a hard line against the USSR. He worked with Republican leaders especially Senator Arthur H. Vandenburg to win bipartisan support for the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan. The Truman Doctrine formalized policy of Soviet containment while the Marshall Plan aimed to rebuild postwar Europe. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 merging War and Navy departments into the National Military Establishment. This act created the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Council. On the 4th of November 1952, he authorized creation of the National Security Agency. On the 24th of June 1948, the Soviet Union blocked access to Western-held sectors of Berlin. Truman approved supplying the city by air instead of sending armored columns. The Berlin Airlift began June 25 and continued until the 11th of May 1949 when ground access resumed. It was one of his great foreign policy successes. Truman also established NATO in 1949 as a peacetime military alliance with Canada and democratic European nations.

In 1946, Truman created the President's Committee on Civil Rights. On the 29th of June 1947, he became first president to address the NAACP at its convention held at the Lincoln Memorial. He laid out need to end discrimination through comprehensive presidentially proposed civil rights legislation. In February 1948, he delivered formal message requesting adoption of ten-point program including anti-lynching and voter rights. Two weeks after the 1948 Democratic Convention, Truman issued Executive Order 9981 ending racial discrimination in Armed Services. He also signed Executive Order 9980 to end discrimination in federal agencies. This took considerable political risk as many Democrats feared loss of Dixiecrat support. South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond declared candidacy on Dixiecrat ticket leading revolt of Southern states' rights proponents. Despite splitting three ways, Truman won election by securing 303 electoral votes against Thomas Dewey's 189. His whistle-stop campaign crisscrossed United States by train aboard Ferdinand Magellan. Six stops in Michigan drew combined half-million people while full million turned out for New York City parade. The defining image came when ecstatic Truman held aloft erroneous Chicago Tribune front page proclaiming "Dewey Defeats Truman."

Harry S. Truman

Captain Of Battery D

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