Jack Remembers -- Frank, Harry, and Les

     Forty years ago this last December 26^th, President Harry S. Truman died.  He was 88 years old.  When I was a boy growing up in Oak Grove, everyone claimed to know Harry Truman.  He had been our Eastern Judge (now called Commissioner) and did have several friends in Oak Grove.  Two of his closest friends were Frank Robinson and Les George.  They all three were members of Pendergast’s Democratic Club at 1908 Main Street in Kansas City. 

     Frank first met Harry before either one of them was involved in politics when he bought a load of cattle from Harry’s father at their Grandview farm in the early 1920’s.  Later when Harry was a County Judge, he gave Frank one of the best patronage jobs the County had.  Frank continued to work for the county 45 years until he retired.  His daughter, Marguarite Miller, now 93, said that her father told her when Harry would visit he would put her on his lap.  Frank always said Harry Truman was the best friend he ever had.

     Les George was Mayor of Oak Grove seven terms and like Harry, served one term as Eastern Judge.  Les’s stepmother was Harry’s first cousin.  And probably before going to Washington as our Senator, Harry would say Les George was his best friend.  Harry, Bess, and Margaret, visited Les and his wife Mae in Oak Grove many, many times.  They would sometimes bring Harry’s sister Mary Jane and his mother Martha.  I read an interview of Les where he said he would visit Harry in Washington a couple times a year and have lunch in the Senate dining room.  Here I thought I was the only one from Oak Grove to have lunch in the Senate dining room. 

    I always loved Harry’s quotes.  When asked how he felt when told President Roosevelt had died, he replied “Have you ever had a load of hay fall on you?”  The next time he was asked the same question he said, “It felt like the stars, the moon, and the planets had fallen on me.”  I liked the first explanation better.  Later in his Presidency, Harry’s popularity plummeted.  When it hit 32% approval, Senator Fulbright from Arkansas asked him to resign.  When told what Fulbright said, Harry replied, “I never pay any attention to what Senator Halfbright says.”

Jack can be reached at PO Box 40, Oak Grove, MO 64075, or jackremembers@aol.com.  Visit www.jackremembers.com

Harry Truman -- Citizen First, Public Servant Second

Yes, Harry Truman did say that "He didn't give the Republicans hall; he just told the truth and they thought it was hell." This, according to Phillip Richmond, who spoke at the preelection Worth County Democratic Rally. Richmond is a former guide at the Harry Truman Home in Independence. It was also related that at the end of his presidency, he was the most unpopular president ever, a little-remembered fact today when both political parties claim his mantle in the area of foreign policy. Harry was unique. He considered himself a citizen first and public servant second. He actively opposed the placing of his name on what is now Truman Road in Independence. He would not approve of the names given to "Truman Dam" or "Truman State." He championed education but did not graduate from college. He loved young people and encouraged them to participate in public affairs. To him, politics was an honorable profession.

Jack Remembers -- Why the Atom Bomb was Dropped

I read every paper I can get my hands on, and every once in a while I read an article that sets me on my ear. This time it was an A. P. article in the Kansas City Star saying Truman’s grandson was in Hiroshima, Japan to attend the Memorial for the people killed by the atomic bomb authorized by his grandfather. The article stated that Susumu Miura, 78 year old Hiroshima native wrote in a Tokyo newspaper that he was enraged when he learned that many Americans still support the decision to drop the atomic bomb.
Yes, Mr. Susumu, we still support President Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We also still remember Pearl Harbor and the Bataan Death March, and your country’s refusal to surrender prior to dropping these bombs.
In July of 1961, former President Harry Truman attended his one and only political rally after his Presidency, in behalf of Larry Gepford at the Muehlbach Hotel in Kansas City. Larry was running against the establishment for Prosecuting Attorney, and had attracted hundreds of young supporters, including myself. However, there were only a few of us in a small meeting room with the former President and the question was asked “Why did you drop the bomb?” Harry Truman answered the question and did not mince words doing so. He said he and the U.S. Commanders were planning the invasion of Japan and knew there would be between 1.7 and 4 million U.S. and Allied casualties, plus an estimated 10 million Japanese deaths. As I remember it, the President did not use the word “Japanese”, but the now politically incorrect “Japs”. He said when he had asked for their surrender, neither Tojo or Emperor Hirohito responded. Then Truman said, “And so I ordered the bomb to be dropped, resulting in Japan’s surrender.”
I have always figured this was the real reason Harry Truman won the 1948 election against Thomas Dewey. The hundreds of thousands of Veterans who did not have to invade Japan thanked Harry by voting Democrat.
Jack can be reached at PO Box 40, Oak Grove, MO 64075 or jackremembers@aol.com. Visit www.jackremembers.com

Jack Remembers: First Medicare Card

On July 30th 1965 President Lyndon Johnson came to the Truman Library in Independence to sign the Medicare law. He then presented Harry Truman with the first Medicare card and Bess Truman with the second card ever issued.

I always told my children a bedtime story and one of these stories was about going to the square in Independence to see President Truman when he came home from the White House. He was always driven around the square real slowly in a white Plymouth convertible before going to the summer White House on 15th Street (Truman Road). I wanted my kids to see a live President and so when I read in the paper President Johnson was coming to Independence, we stood on a corner south of Truman Library where we knew the motorcade would be traveling. All of a sudden here came about a dozen black limousines with tinted glass windows being escorted by a multitude of motorcycle policemen. Since this was just two years after Kennedy’s assassination, the Secret Service did not want you to know which one of the cars the President was in. It was a big disappointment to me, but the kids were thrilled to see the Presidential Motorcade.

This was 45 years ago. I had no idea what Medicare was. And couldn’t actually have cared less. However, a few weeks ago I was coming back home in to town from my farm when I passed out driving my pickup truck. I quickly came to, managed to get home, and was so dizzy I couldn’t stand up. Laura called 911, and about four or five hours later I had a pacemaker. At the end of each month, Medicare sends out a summary of medical bills and any money they have paid. A few days ago, I got this notice they had paid Centerpointe Hospital $99,700 for my pacemaker. Thank you President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Jack can be reached at PO Box 40, Oak Grove, MO 64075 or jackremembers@aol.com