Harry S Truman once visited his mother while in his blue Missouri National Guard uniform. His mother Martha Ellen Young Truman looked at Harry and said, "Harry, that's the first time since those Kansas Redlegs burned my house that a uniform of that color has been in this house and don't you bring it back." Remembering the story Harry Truman, said "And I didn't!" Harry S Truman was the Senator from Missouri, President of the United States and the man from Independence. He was a York and Scottish Rite Mason and a man who played the piano. He was the Grand Master of Missouri and a master of a Blue lodge and a research lodge. The sign on his desk in the Oval Office read "The buck stops here."

Author's Note: I usually give this talk about Harry Truman after a Stated Meeting dinner. I say each statement and request a "Yes or No" from the group, and then I present the correct answer with the explanation. The statements and their answers are divided by numbers. For easy reading before groups there is extra spacing between the numbers and the statements are in bold type. For trestle board use you may wish to tighten up the spacing.4

(Following are some statements about Harry S Truman. You answer each with a "Yes or No" as to whether you feel it is correct or not. I will explain the answers.)

1. Statement: There is no period after the "S" in Harry S Truman.

YES NO

Answer: YES The "S" in Harry "S" Truman has no period behind it because it did not stand for any name. His grandfathers Solomon Young and Anderson Shippe Truman were each told separately that the "S" stood for his name.

2. Statement: Harry's mother Martha Ellen Young Truman always referred to the Civil War as the "War between the States."

YES NO

Answer: YES In regard to the "War between the States" or the "Civil War" Harry Truman referred to his mother as "unreconstructed."

3. Statement: Harry Truman was named after his Uncle Harrison Truman.

YES NO

Answer: YES Harry was named after Harrison Truman although the future president's name was legally Harry and not Harrison.

4. Statement: Harrison Young as a boy during the "War between the States" was hung by the Yankees soldiers.

YES NO

Answer: YES Harrison Young was not only hung by the Yankees but hung three times. Harrison's father Solomon Young was a freight hauler and often traveled for months at a time to distances as faraway as California. The Yankees attempted to get Harrison to say that his father was a Confederate soldier. That was not true and Harrison bet his life on it. The Yankees "stretched his neck" three times but did not kill Harrison.

5. Statement: Harry Truman would practice Masonic ritual behind his horses while plowing his fields. YES NO

Answer: YES

6. Statement: Harry Truman's first car was a 1910 Stafford YES NO

Answer: YES

7. Statement During World War I, Harry Truman was the hero of the battle known as "Who Run." YES NO

Answer YES and NO When Captain Harry Truman commanded Artillery Battery D, a sergeant panicked while not under fire. He ran up and down the line yelling and lead many away from their posts and towards the rear. Captain Truman ran after the men swearing at them. He rounded up the runners and returned them to their posts. Those who panicked and ran were hesitant to admit it. "Did you run?" "Who run?" To the soldiers of "Battery D" the incident became known as the "Battle of Who Run?" That particular sergeant was transferred to a different company.

8. Statement Harry Truman's grandfather, Solomon Young owned Sacramento, California. YES NO

Answer YES Solomon Young owned 40,000 acres of what is now known as Sacramento, California. He had to sell the land to pay off a debt incurred by his partner.

9. Statement Harry Truman turned down the Scottish Rite 33 Degree. YES NO

Answer YES and NO Harry S Truman refused to accept the Scottish Rite 33rd Degree until an injustice to a friend was remedied and his friend's 33rd Degree restored. When that was done he accepted the Scottish Rite 33rd Degree.

10. Statement There was strong opposition to Harry Truman becoming the Junior Grand Warden of Missouri. YES NO

Answer YES While he was an honest man Harry was part of the corrupt Tom Pendergast organization. Those in opposition to Harry used their opposition to Pendergast and Franklin Roosevelt to gather votes against him. There is not supposed to be politicking in Masonry but there was against Harry. Usually a Junior Grand Warden received an almost unanimous vote. Harry received 398 votes and his opponent 345. Two years later he became Grand Master of Missouri.

11. Statement When the White House was renovated stones with Masonic markings were found in the foundation. YES NO

Answer YES When the White House was renovated during his administration several stones with Masonic markings were found in the foundation. President Truman presented one of these stones to each of the Grand Lodges of the 48 States plus the District of Columbia.

12. Statement When a youngster, Harry's mother would spank him but his father would not. YES NO

Answer YES From the book Plain Speaking by Merle Miller, "Your mother spanked you? Of course, she did. When I misbehaved she switched me, and I never thought anything of it. She didn't do it unless I deserved." "Did your father ever spank you? No never, but when he got mad at you over something or other, he could give you a good scolding that would burn the hide off of you. I'd rather of taken the licking."

13. Statement Captain Harry Truman used a great amount of profanity during battle. YES NO

Answer YES And at other times according to the soldiers of Battery D.

14. Statement Harry Truman had been a county judge. YES NO

Answer YES and NO He held the title of "judge" but did not preside over a court. He was a "county commissioner" or a "county supervisor."

15. Statement Harry Truman was Vice President of the United States for only 82 days before he became President. YES NO

Answer YES

In his book Brother Truman, Allen E. Roberts writes of the young Mason Bernard Topper who in 1954 worked at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. The hotel manager received a request from the former president's room for a Bible. Bernard was sent with the Bible. Bernard asked Harry Truman to sign his dues card but asked him not to turn the card over.

"Why can't I look on the other side of the card?" asked Harry.

"You may not like what is written there, Sir." Bernard sheepishly replied. Harry Truman turned the card over and found the signature of his long time adversary and fellow mason Douglas MacArthur. Harry laughed and said, "Young man, we are all brothers after all. I'll sign right under his name."

(c) 2006 David Kimball

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The author David Kimball is a Former Master of El Camino Research Lodge, San Jose, California. His blue lodge is Los Altos Lodge, No. 712 in Los Altos California where he is a Hiram Award recipient, he is a 32nd Degree member of the San Jose Scottish Rite, where he is a member of the Knights of St. Andrew, and is an active member of the Asiya Shrine. You may contact him at freemason712@yahoo.com.

(Permission to reprint and otherwise use this article is granted to all Masonic organizations recognized by the Grand Lodge of California, Free and Accepted Masons.)

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