Harry S. Truman

== Military service ==
===National Guard===
Due to the lack of funds for college, Truman considered attending the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York]], which had no tuition, but he was refused an appointment because of poor eyesight.{{sfn|Hamby|1995|pp=17–18, 135}} He enlisted in the [[Missouri National Guard]] in 1905 and served until 1911 in the Kansas City-based [[Artillery battery|Battery]] B, 2nd Missouri Field Artillery Regiment, in which he attained the rank of [[Corporal#United States|corporal]].{{sfn|Gilwee|2000}} At his induction, his eyesight without glasses was unacceptable [[Visual acuity|20/50]] in the right eye and 20/400 in the left (past the standard for legal blindness).{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=105}} The second time he took the test, he passed by secretly memorizing the eye chart.{{sfn|Truman Library, Eye|2012}} He was described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, [[gray eyed]], dark haired and of light complexion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/ww1/documents/index.php?documentid=324&pagenumber=3|title=Harry S. Truman's National Guard Enlistment Papers, June 22, 1917. RG407: Records of the Adjutant General's Office: Military Personnel File of Harry S. Truman, Subject Files. Service File, 1917–1957 [1 of 3].|access-date=May 12, 2019|website=Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum|page=3}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[File:Harry S. Truman in his World War I Army uniform.jpg|thumb|left|Truman in September 1917]]

===World War I===
When the United States entered [[World War I]] on [[American entry into World War I|April 6, 1917]], Truman rejoined Battery B, successfully recruiting new soldiers for the expanding unit, for which he was elected as their [[First lieutenant#U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force|first lieutenant]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Ferrell |editor-first=Robert H. |date=1998 |title=Dear Bess: The Letters from Harry to Bess Truman, 1910–1959 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6y0odeAgVDwC&pg=PA219 |location=Columbia, MO |publisher=University of Missouri Press |page=219 |isbn=978-0-8262-1203-0}}</ref> Before deployment to France, Truman was sent for training to [[Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma|Camp Doniphan]], [[Fort Sill]], near [[Lawton, Oklahoma]], when his regiment was federalized as the [[129th Field Artillery Regiment|129th Field Artillery]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Offner |first=Arnold A. |date=2002 |title=Another Such Victory: President Truman and the Cold War, 1945–1953 |url=https://archive.org/details/anothersuchvicto00offn |url-access=registration |location=Stanford, CA |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-4254-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/anothersuchvicto00offn/page/6 6] |ref={{sfnRef|''Another Such Victory''}}}}</ref> The regimental commander during its training was [[Robert M. Danford]], who later served as the Army's Chief of Field Artillery.{{sfn|''Another Such Victory''|page=6}} Truman recalled that he learned more practical, useful information from Danford in six weeks than from six months of formal Army instruction, and when Truman served as an artillery instructor, he consciously patterned his approach on Danford's.{{sfn|''Another Such Victory''|page=6}}

Truman also ran the camp [[post exchange|canteen]] with [[Edward Jacobson]], a clothing store clerk he knew from Kansas City. Unlike most canteens funded by unit members, which usually lost money, the canteen operated by Truman and Jacobson turned a profit, returning each soldier's initial $2 investment and $10,000 in dividends in six months.{{sfn |Gilwee| 2000}} At Fort Sill, Truman met Lieutenant James M. Pendergast, nephew of [[Tom Pendergast]], a Kansas City political boss, a connection that had a profound influence on Truman's later life.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|pp=105–110}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Giangreco |first=D. M. |work=Doughboy Center: The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces |publisher=WorldWar1.com |title=Capt. Harry Truman & Battery D, 129th Field Artillery In Action in the Argonne |url=http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/truman2.htm |access-date=July 29, 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Harry S. Truman WW I.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Truman in military uniform with shoulder and waist belt with helmet|Truman in uniform, {{circa}} 1918]]

In mid-1918, about one million soldiers of the [[American Expeditionary Forces]] (AEF) were in France.{{sfn|Current|Freidel|Williams|1971|p=594}} Truman was promoted to [[Captain (United States O-3)|captain]] effective April 23,<ref>[https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/research-files/announcement-harry-s-trumans-promotion-captain Announcement of Harry S. Truman's Promotion to Captain, May 2, 1918]</ref> and in July became commander of the newly arrived Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, [[35th Infantry Division (United States)|35th Division]].{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=115}}<ref>[https://www.nationalguard.mil/Resources/Image-Gallery/Historical-Paintings/Heritage-Series/Trumans-Battery/ "Truman's Battery"]</ref> Battery D was known for its discipline problems, and Truman was initially unpopular because of his efforts to restore order.{{sfn|Gilwee|2000}} Despite attempts by the men to intimidate him into quitting, Truman succeeded by making his corporals and sergeants accountable for discipline. He promised to back them up if they performed capably and reduce them to private if they did not.{{sfn|Burnes|2003|p=49}} In an event memorialized in battery lore as "The Battle of Who Run", his soldiers began to flee during a sudden night attack by the Germans in the [[Vosges Mountains]]; Truman succeeded at ordering his men to stay and fight, using profanity from his railroad days. The men were so surprised to hear Truman use such language that they immediately obeyed.{{sfn|Gilwee|2000}}

Truman's unit joined in a massive prearranged assault barrage on September 26, 1918, at the opening of the [[Meuse–Argonne offensive]].<ref name=Farinacci>{{cite book |last=Farinacci |first= Donald J. |date=2017 |title=Truman and MacArthur: Adversaries for a Common Cause |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HV8lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 |location=Hoosick Falls, NY |publisher=Merriam Press |pages=71–72 |isbn=978-1-57638-630-9}}</ref> They advanced with difficulty over [[Zone rouge|pitted terrain]] to follow the infantry, and set up an observation post west of [[Cheppy]].<ref name=Farinacci/> On September 27, Truman saw through his binoculars an enemy artillery battery deploying across a river in a position which would allow them to fire upon the neighboring [[28th Division (United States)|28th Division]].<ref name=Farinacci/> Truman's orders limited him to targets facing the 35th Division, but he ignored this and patiently waited until the Germans had walked their horses well away from their guns, ensuring they could not relocate out of range of Truman's battery.<ref name=Farinacci/> He then ordered his men to open fire, and their attack destroyed the enemy battery.<ref name=Farinacci/> His actions were credited with saving the lives of 28th Division soldiers who otherwise would have come under fire from the Germans.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|pp=130, 531}}{{sfn|Giangreco|2002|p=192}} Truman was given a dressing down by his regimental commander, Colonel Karl D. Klemm, who threatened to convene a court-martial, but Klemm never followed through, and Truman was not punished.<ref name=Farinacci/>

In other action during the Meuse–Argonne offensive, Truman's battery provided support for [[George S. Patton]]'s tank brigade,{{sfn|Giangreco|2002|pp=181–186}} and fired some of the last shots of the war on November 11, 1918. Battery D did not lose any men while under Truman's command in France. To show their appreciation for his leadership, his men presented him with a large [[loving cup]] upon their return to the United States after the war.{{sfn|Gilwee|2000}}

The war was a transformative experience in which Truman manifested his leadership qualities. He had entered the service in 1917 as a family farmer who had worked in clerical jobs that did not require the ability to motivate and direct others, but during the war, he gained leadership experience and a record of success that greatly enhanced and supported his post-war political career in Missouri.{{sfn|Gilwee|2000}}

Truman was brought up in the Presbyterian and [[Baptist]] churches,<ref>{{cite book |last=Daniels |first=Roger |date=2010 |title=Immigration and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z0ZCxForm1cC&pg=PA1 |location=Kirksville, MO |publisher=Truman State University Press |page=1 |isbn=978-1-931112-99-4}}</ref> but avoided [[Revival meeting|revivals]] and sometimes ridiculed revivalist preachers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Espinosa |first=Gastón |date=2009 |title=Religion and the American Presidency |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iYTZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22describing+to+Bess+a+revival+meeting+that+he+had+heard+about%2C+where+the+emotional+behavior+of+those+present+amused+him%22 |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=220 |isbn=978-0-231-14333-2}}</ref> He rarely spoke about religion, which to him, primarily meant ethical behavior along traditional Protestant lines.<ref>{{cite book |last= Nielsen |first= Niels C. |date=2009 |title=God In The Obama Era |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UAym-zqJC08C |location=New York|publisher=Morgan James Publishing |pages=152–153, 156 |isbn=978-1-60037-646-7}}</ref> Truman once wrote in a letter to his future wife, Bess: "You know that I know nothing about Lent and such things..."<ref>{{cite letter |first=Harry S. |last= Truman |recipient= Bess Wallace |subject=Letter from Harry S. Truman to Bess Wallace |language=English |date=March 19, 1911 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/200621 |access-date=March 24, 2022}}</ref> Most of the soldiers he commanded in the war were Catholics, and one of his close friends was the 129th Field Artillery's chaplain, [[Monsignor]] L. Curtis Tiernan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/tiernan.htm |title=Biographical Sketch, L. Curtis Tiernan |last=Tiernan |first=L. Curtis |website=Monsignor L. Curtis Tiernan Papers |publisher=Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum |location=Independence, MO |access-date=May 21, 2018 |ref={{sfnRef|"Biographical Sketch, L. Curtis Tiernan"}}}}</ref> The two remained friends until Tiernan's death in 1960.{{sfn|"Biographical Sketch, L. Curtis Tiernan"}} Developing leadership and interpersonal skills that later made him a successful politician helped Truman get along with his Catholic soldiers, as he did with soldiers of other Christian denominations and the unit's Jewish members.<ref>{{cite web | title = FAQ: Was President Truman the first Baptist president? | url = http://www.trumanlibrary.org/trivia/baptist.htm | publisher = Harry S. Truman Library & Museum | access-date = March 5, 2016 | archive-date = March 4, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104540/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/trivia/baptist.htm | url-status = dead }}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | first = Elizabeth Edwards | last = Spalding | contribution = Religion and the presidency of Harry S. Truman | editor-first = Gastón | editor-last = Espinosa | title = Religion and the American Presidency: George Washington to George W. Bush | year = 2009 | pages = 219–249}}.</ref>

=== Officers' Reserve Corps ===
[[File:Officers, 129th Field Artillery, at regimental headquarters at Château du Chesnay near Courcemont, France, March 1919. Cap - NARA - 530949.tif|thumb|left|Officers of the 129th Field Artillery, at regimental headquarters at Chateau le Chanay near Courcemont, France, March 1919. Captain Harry S. Truman is pictured in the second row, third from the right.]]

Truman was honorably discharged from the Army as a [[Captain (United States)|captain]] on May 6, 1919.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sobel |first=Robert |date=1990 |title=Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774–1989 |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicaldire00sobe |url-access=registration |location=Westport, CT |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/biographicaldire00sobe/page/358 358] |isbn=978-0-313-26593-8}}</ref> In 1920, he was appointed a [[Major (United States)|major]] in the [[Officers Reserve Corps]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/research-files/united-states-army-officers-reserve-corps-commission-harry-s-truman |title=United States Army Officers' Reserve Corps Commission for Harry S. Truman, March 20, 1920 |website=From Soldier to Senator: Harry S. Truman, 1918–1941 |publisher=Harry S. Truman Library and Museum |location=Independence, MO |access-date=April 23, 2022}}</ref> He became a [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] in 1925 and a [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] in 1932.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pullen |first=Randy |year=1999 |title=Twice the Citizen—And Then Some |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RQIuAAAAYAAJ&q=%22harry+s.+truman%22 |journal=Army Reserve Magazine |location=Washington DC |publisher=U.S. Army Reserve |page=12 }}</ref> In the 1920s and 1930s he commanded 1st Battalion, 379th Field Artillery, [[102nd Infantry Division (United States)|102nd Infantry Division]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Clay |first=Steven E. |date=2010 |title=US Army Order of Battle, 1919–1941 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDnlMWhH9lgC&q=%22harry+s.+truman%22 |location=Ft. Leavenworth, KS |publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press |page=878|isbn=9780984190140 }}</ref> After promotion to colonel, Truman advanced to command of the same regiment.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tucker |first=Frank |date=December 1, 2010 |title=Army History: Truman, you're too old ...|newspaper=Gateway Today |publisher=Association of the United States Army, St. Louis Chapter |location=St. Louis |pages=5–8}}</ref>

After his election to the U.S. Senate, Truman was transferred to the General Assignments Group, a holding unit for less active officers, although he had not been consulted in advance.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Army History: Truman, you're too old''</ref> Truman protested his reassignment, which led to his resumption of regimental command.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> He remained an active reservist until the early 1940s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maddox |first=Robert James |date=2007 |title=Hiroshima in History: The Myths of Revisionism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2Zv3VD6ptQC&pg=PA77 |location=Columbia, MO |publisher=University of Missouri Press |page=77 |isbn=978-0-8262-1732-5}}</ref> Truman volunteered for active military service during [[World War II]], but was not accepted, partly because of age, and partly because President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] desired senators and congressmen who belonged to the military reserves to support the war effort by remaining in Congress, or by ending their active duty service and resuming their congressional seats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hst-bio.htm |title=Biographical Sketch: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States |website=Trumanlibrary.org |publisher=Harry S. Truman Library and Museum |access-date=May 27, 2016}}</ref> He was an inactive reservist from the early 1940s until retiring as a colonel in the then redesignated [[U.S. Army Reserve]] on January 20, 1953.<ref>Pullen, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=RQIuAAAAYAAJ&q=%22harry+s.+truman%22 Twice the Citizen]''</ref>

=== Military awards and decorations ===
Truman was awarded a [[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] with two [[Medal bar|battle clasps]] (for [[Battle of Saint-Mihiel|St. Mihiel]] and [[Meuse–Argonne offensive|Meuse-Argonne]]) and a [[Western Front (World War I)|Defensive Sector]] Clasp. He was also the recipient of two [[Armed Forces Reserve Medal]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/rg407.htm |title=Harry S. Truman Military Personnel File |series=Record Group 407 |date=1917–1973 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] |location=Washington DC |access-date=December 17, 2018 |via=[[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum]]}}</ref>