Harry Truman goes to war (Part 2)
Appreciate all those who joined us in East Hills Mall for Bob Ford’s History, will be gathering again March 2 at 1p.m. If you’re a buff, you’ll like it!
Harry didn’t have to.
The United States entered World War I in 1917 when Harry was 33. He had already done a 6-year distinguished stint in the National Reserve, but our country needed him. Patriotism and military service had always run deep with Truman.
Not only had he served, he was a farmer, exempt from duty because his food providing occupation was considered essential in the War effort. Then there was his eyesight. He couldn’t see past the end of his nose without glasses. His poor vision had kept him out of his early life’s dream of becoming a cadet at West Point.
Harry figured it out by cheating to get into the Reserve. Now, he was willing to do it again to serve his country, enlisting in the Army that was about to head to Europe and join the war.
He memorized the eye chart.
Once in, Harry was older than the rest of the regiment. He was made an officer and put in charge of a rowdy artillery group of German/Irish known for being undisciplined drunks from the Rockhurst Academy in Kansas City.
Harry gained control of this wild artillery unit through his own strict but fair order. “He looked more like a professor than our Captain,” bristled a private, but through drilling and time Harry prevailed.
After artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the war was on. There was no time to dally.
When they landed in France, now-Captain Truman was in charge of the Company D part of the 127th Field Artillery unit. This meant he commanded 200 men with 50 horses, managing four destructive 75-millimeter French cannons with supportive caissons and equipment.
This farmer from Missouri thought he was in over his head as he wrote future wife Bess, “Can you imagine me being a hardboiled captain of a tough Irish battery!”
When the battery first came under fire, Truman held his ground but confessed to Bess, “My greatest satisfaction is that my legs did not carry me away, although they were very anxious to do so.”
As good leaders do, Truman's first concern was his men and they knew it. On more than one occasion, the future President disobeyed orders, which caused him great consternation from his incompetent superior, Colonel Klemm.
In battle chaos reigns, smoke, terrain, noise, destruction, etc., a battery is ordered to move and fire in a certain quadrant, or they might shell their own attacking infantry.
Truman observed an enemy battery taking position outside his sector. Instead of waiting for orders, he unloaded, destroying the target, probably saving hundreds of American lives.
Colonel Klemm was furious and prepared court martial charges against Truman. Only after the intervention of one General John J. Pershing, who commended Truman for his “quick decision-making initiative that saved many lives,” did Klemm relent, further endearing Truman to his men.
Battery D was ordered, during a constant pelting rain, through mud and muck to move 100 miles to the other end of the front in the Ardennes forest, sloshing along at night and laying low by day, hoping to foil German observation planes. They were always in range of the enemy’s far-reaching 105MM guns. Most of the time, only a few miles from the front. It was grueling.
Truman didn’t lose a single man, but many horses fell from exhaustion.
Earlier, a shell went off just 15 feet away from Truman while he was on horseback. The animal reared, fell into a bomb crater, rolled on top of Harry, trapping him. As the Captain struggled to free himself, he took fire. Many in his command fled. Now free and standing his ground, his men sheepishly started coming back.
Admiration for Truman grew as he led the way, by example. In a nod to the first battle of the Civil War, Bull Run, where Union soldiers panicked, running away from the fight, nicknaming that cowardice act “the Great Skedaddle,” Company D dubbed their bolt, “The Battle of Who Ran.” The embarrassing retreat galvanized the company, again bolstered Truman in the eyes of his men and reestablished battlefield discipline.
Germany was fading. Losses at St. Michel and Belleau Wood spelled the end was near. The exuberant, fresh Doughboys from “over there” had turned the tide. World War I was four years old. All combatant countries had extraordinary losses in men and resources.
As Pershing’s Big Red 1 advanced and Truman’s Battery took their position in Alsace, this would be the final assault on the Axis. Company D, in four hours of battle, unloaded 3,000 rounds in support of the attacking infantry over the now-disillusioned but well-dug-in Germans. After the barrage, Truman said he was deaf for two straight weeks!
The Company’s guns were on fire. Every time they reloaded and opened the breech, “It felt like an oven.” Truman shifted from rear command post to forward position, always on the move.
Hopefully, a rumored ceasefire announcement would come soon.
The future 33rd President remembered, "The sky from one end of the horizon to the next was a brilliant red with all the artillery shells bursting on the German’s position.” Who could survive under this barrage?
On November 11, 1918, word came down the line: No shots were to be fired after 11 a.m. An armistice had been reached.
A truce Pershing was against. An unconditional surrender allowing the Allies to destroy Germany's ability to wage war was needed. If not another, war was inevitable. He knew it.
Battery D was headed home. Truman didn’t lose a single man in combat.
Appropriately, on the ship back home, a crap game broke out. The winnings were collected to give Truman an inscribed Loving Cup from his men that read, “Presented by the members of Battery D in appreciation of your justice, ability and leadership.”
Decades later, in Truman’s inaugural Presidential parade, 79 of the 138 surviving members from Battery D marched with their Captain.
Truman wrote, “My whole political career is based on my war service and war associations.”
War is a terrible experience, leaving most with a lifetime of painful memories, but some discover untapped strengths.
Next week, Truman enters the political arena.
————————————-
Bob Ford’s History will appear in each edition of the Midweek, Weekender and Corner Post. You can find more of Bob’s work on his website, bobfordshistory.com and videos on YouTube and TikTok.
