Soldier, businessman and 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, was inducted into the Fort Leavenworth Hall of Fame during a ceremony Nov. 13 in the Lewis and Clark Center's Eisenhower Auditorium, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Truman's service at Fort Leavenworth occurred both before and after his presidency. After serving in World War I, Truman was appointed to the Reserve Officer Corps in 1920 and attended reserve officer's training at Fort Leavenworth in 1923. Truman then returned to Fort Leavenworth twice in 1961 and once in 1964 to speak at the Command and General Staff College graduation and speak to CGSC students.
Truman originally enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in 1905 where he served until 1911. When the United States entered World War I in 1917 Truman returned to the National Guard and was discharged in 1919 at the rank of major. He continued on in the Reserve Officer Corps and was eventually promoted to colonel in 1932.
Truman's eldest grandson, Clifton Truman Daniel, represented the Truman family during the ceremony.
"Even as a child he (Truman) dreamed of a military career," Daniel said. "During the Spanish-American War he and some other teenagers formed their own rifle squad and marched back and forth across each other's back yards. He hoped that would get him into West Point - It did not."
Daniel said that his grandfather's eyesight kept him out of the military academy so Truman joined the Missouri National Guard in 1905 and left that in 1911 to run the family farm as well as court his grandmother, Bess Wallace.
"Which could be a full time job," Daniel joked.
Daniel said that when his grandfather rejoined the National Guard in 1917 during World War I, he actually didn't have to serve.
"He was 33 years old, he was the head of a household and a farmer," Daniel said. "All of those things would have legitimately kept him out of the war."
Daniel said his grandfather learned some important things during World War I.
"He learned he could bleed and he learned that he had courage," Daniel said.
Truman's political career began in 1922 when he was elected Eastern Judge for the Jackson County (Missouri) Court. In 1934 Truman was elected to the United States Senate and reelected in 1940. In 1945 Truman was sworn in as vice president under Franklin Delano Roosevelt during Roosevelt's fourth term in office. When Roosevelt died in April 1945, Truman became the 33rd president of the United States and in 1948 he was reelected and served until 1953.
During his time in the White House, Truman was faced with ending World War II, the beginning of the Cold War and the beginning of the Korean War.
"When you think about this man, a man who probably had the toughest decisions of any man in our nation's history," Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Lundy said. "He came from humble beginnings and he rose to the highest office in our nation and was faced with the most challenging decisions that any national leader could ever be faced with."
Lundy said it was appropriate that Truman be inducted into the hall of fame during the centennial year of the end of World War I.
"To be able to honor him this year is truly our honor," Lundy said.
Lundy challenged the audience to think about what Truman meant to the nation and what he means to the future military leaders in the audience who attend the Command and General Staff College.
"Reflect on his service, reflect on his commitment and reflect on his character because that is what we are about here as we think about being professionals in the profession of arms," Lundy said. "President Truman certainly exemplified everything that we should all aspire to be."
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