[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2004

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, May 8, 2004, will mark the 120th 
anniversary of the birth of Harry S Truman in the town of Lamar, 
Missouri. He would go on to serve in the military in World War I and 
hold elected office as judge, United States senator, Vice President, 
and President of the United States. His is a story and a life that we 
can all learn from.
  Harry Truman answered the call to duty in World War I. He helped 
organize the 2nd Regiment of Missouri Field Artillery. The regiment was 
called into Federal service, renamed the 129th Field Artillery, and 
sent to serve on the battlefields of France. Earning the confidence of 
his fellow soldiers, Truman rose quickly to the rank of captain and was 
given the command of the regiment's Battery D, a regiment that still 
exists today in the Missouri National Guard.
  Truman entered elected office in 1922, successfully seeking the 
position of Jackson County Court judge. Following winning campaigns for 
presiding judge of the Jackson County Court in 1924 and 1930, Judge 
Truman sought and won the office of United States Senator for Missouri 
in 1934.
  Senator Truman won reelection in 1940. In the Senate, he 
distinguished himself in the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 
1938, the Transportation Act of 1940, and as the chairman of the Senate 
Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program.
  In July, 1944, the Democratic Party nominated Harry Truman to run for 
Vice President with President Franklin Roosevelt. With President 
Roosevelt's unexpected death, Harry Truman was sworn in as President 
only eighty-two days after taking the vice-presidential oath.
  President Truman's first year saw some of the most significant events 
of the twentieth century. The death of Adolf Hitler and the end of the 
European front in World War II was soon followed by Truman's courageous 
decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan, bringing a quick surrender 
and an end to the war. Truman's first year also saw the creation of the 
United Nations and the first steps into the century's next great 
struggle: the Cold War.
  Truman tackled the Communist challenge with a singular determination. 
The Truman Doctrine enunciated the willingness of the United States to 
provide military assistance to countries determined to fight Communist 
forces. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization created a wall between 
the free nations of Western Europe and the communist forces of the 
Warsaw Pact. As President Truman sought to guarantee Western Europe's 
physical security, through the Marshall Plan he worked to secure the 
economies of America's European allies. In the ultimate show of his 
resolve to fight Communism on every front, President Truman responded 
with military force to an invasion of South Korea.

  Following his years as President, Harry Truman returned to 
Independence, Missouri. He took to calling himself ``Mr. Citizen''. His 
daily walks became a popular local story that soon spread nationwide. 
After all of the extraordinary events he witnessed and in which he 
participated, Harry Truman desired no more than to return to a simple 
life.
  Mr. Speaker, President Truman left us with the phrase, ``the buck 
stops here''. It is a philosophy of life that all Americans could learn 
from and is one reason why he has the respect of both Republicans and 
Democrats today. Harry Truman was a valuable leader and a great 
president. I know my fellow Members will join me on this day in 
remembering his important contributions to the United States of 
America.

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