On Thursday morning we
headed to Independence, Missouri—hometown of Harry S. Truman and his celebrated
library. Our hometown boasts its own presidential library, but the Truman
library boasts being the first. It really was a wonderful portrayal of the life
and presidency of a man who faced several gut-wrenching and difficult
decisions.
Everyone knows that Truman had to make the final decision about dropping the atomic bombs in Japan. But he was also responsible for directing how America responded after the war was over, specifically in Europe with the Marshall Plan and the Berlin blockade and airlift. He also faced tough decisions as the US ended up in the Korean War as well during his presidency. Also, don't forget that it was Truman who, over the objections of several top advisors, integrated the army. I appreciated how they present pros and cons and the narrative in how the entire museum came together to tell a linear story.
Rarely does a single artifact in a museum move me personally, but I had some goosebumps viewing the Bible Truman took the oath of office on. Apparently, Democratic party officials had seen FDR before the Democratic National Convention, where he would run for an unprecedented fourth term, and they new that the Vice President they selected would indeed be President before long. Perhaps never V.P. was ever as carefully picked as Truman, a testimony to his character. When FDR passed away, Truman reportedly asked Eleanor Roosevelt if there was anything he could do for her. The recently widowed woman responded, "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now." Just seeing that Bible, on which a solemn oath was sworn during a time where humanity's fate seemed so dire, struck me with deep awe.
The artifact that stood out to me (Alex is the writer for this paragraph) the most was a letter to President Truman written by a distraught father who just lost his son in the Korean War. It reads as follows:
Mr. Truman-- As you have been directly responsible for the loss of our son's life in Korea, you might just as well keep this emblem on display in your trophy room, as a memory of one of your historic deeds. Our major regret at this time is that your daughter was not there to receive the same treatment as our son received in Korea.
Included with the letter was a Purple Heart. Truman kept the letter locked in a drawer in his office and it wasn't discovered until after he passed away. This brought to life the humanity of the decisions Truman had to make. The father has every right to be angry. The President is doing what he believes is best as Commander and Chief. I think one of the most difficult pieces of the presidency would be the ongoing struggle of having so much power but at the same time being utterly powerless in so many situations.
Another interesting exhibit was a room that had all the covers from Life magazine in 1952 to give a glimpse of what life was like during the Truman era. A few items we took note of was an article about the Notre Dame football team and that three players in the picture didn't have face masks on their helmets (and were subsequently all missing a handful of teeth). Another page had letters to the editor commenting on President Truman's wardrobe in a picture-- some argued it was unkempt and unseemly and other argued that the man responsible for getting the free world back on track shouldn't have to worry about his shirt being tucked in the wrong way. Oh how times have changed and how people are still very much the same.
I have always admired Truman and his library made me
appreciate him even more. Perhaps the
most surprising thing to me was how short of a man Truman was. As I told Alex
while standing next to a life-size statue of Truman, “I always thought all the
Presidents were giants”.
Everyone knows that Truman had to make the final decision about dropping the atomic bombs in Japan. But he was also responsible for directing how America responded after the war was over, specifically in Europe with the Marshall Plan and the Berlin blockade and airlift. He also faced tough decisions as the US ended up in the Korean War as well during his presidency. Also, don't forget that it was Truman who, over the objections of several top advisors, integrated the army. I appreciated how they present pros and cons and the narrative in how the entire museum came together to tell a linear story.
Rarely does a single artifact in a museum move me personally, but I had some goosebumps viewing the Bible Truman took the oath of office on. Apparently, Democratic party officials had seen FDR before the Democratic National Convention, where he would run for an unprecedented fourth term, and they new that the Vice President they selected would indeed be President before long. Perhaps never V.P. was ever as carefully picked as Truman, a testimony to his character. When FDR passed away, Truman reportedly asked Eleanor Roosevelt if there was anything he could do for her. The recently widowed woman responded, "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now." Just seeing that Bible, on which a solemn oath was sworn during a time where humanity's fate seemed so dire, struck me with deep awe.
The artifact that stood out to me (Alex is the writer for this paragraph) the most was a letter to President Truman written by a distraught father who just lost his son in the Korean War. It reads as follows:
Mr. Truman-- As you have been directly responsible for the loss of our son's life in Korea, you might just as well keep this emblem on display in your trophy room, as a memory of one of your historic deeds. Our major regret at this time is that your daughter was not there to receive the same treatment as our son received in Korea.
Included with the letter was a Purple Heart. Truman kept the letter locked in a drawer in his office and it wasn't discovered until after he passed away. This brought to life the humanity of the decisions Truman had to make. The father has every right to be angry. The President is doing what he believes is best as Commander and Chief. I think one of the most difficult pieces of the presidency would be the ongoing struggle of having so much power but at the same time being utterly powerless in so many situations.
Another interesting exhibit was a room that had all the covers from Life magazine in 1952 to give a glimpse of what life was like during the Truman era. A few items we took note of was an article about the Notre Dame football team and that three players in the picture didn't have face masks on their helmets (and were subsequently all missing a handful of teeth). Another page had letters to the editor commenting on President Truman's wardrobe in a picture-- some argued it was unkempt and unseemly and other argued that the man responsible for getting the free world back on track shouldn't have to worry about his shirt being tucked in the wrong way. Oh how times have changed and how people are still very much the same.
Next on our trip was another adventure in our slightly
quirky world of looking at big trees.
Missouri boasts the national grand champion bur oak. Of course a detour was in order to see this tree near McBaine, MO. Alex saw this tree several years ago when see biked across Missouri on the Katy Trail. We turned off the interstate to the wander the back roads that go up and down and twist all around. We are Kansas drivers and this makes us nervous. Finally the road flatten out to the Missouri River bottomland. The bur oak tree has stood on this soil for 350-400 years. It has stood watch as Lewis and Clark would have paddled at the turn of the 19th Century. It is 90 feet tall, a crown of 130 feet, and diameter of almost 8 feet. During the 1993 floods the water level at the tree was 9 feet.
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