[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 30 (Thursday, February 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  2018 WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT HONORING 
                       PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN

  Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I wish to ask the Senate to join me 
today in recognizing, celebrating, and highlighting the upcoming 
presentation of the 2018 White House Historical Association Ornament 
that honors Missouri native and 33rd U.S. President, Harry S. Truman.
  The 2018 White House Historical Association Christmas Ornament will 
be presented this President's Day in President Truman's hometown, 
Independence, MO, at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and 
Museum. The ornament is designed to highlight the positive changes 
President Truman made to the White House while in office.
  The front side of the ornament features the Truman balcony added in 
1947-48 to the south portico that allowed his family outdoor access 
from their upstairs living area and is still a popular location for 
First Families and their guests. The back side features the renovated 
Blue Room, home to the official White House Christmas Tree. President 
Truman's White House alterations and restorations were the most work 
done since President George Washington built the Executive mansion and 
Presidents James Madison and James Monroe restored it after it was 
damaged by fire in the War of 1812.
  The Presidential Seal, located at the top of the ornament, was 
implemented by President Truman in 1945. Originally, the American eagle 
looked left towards its talons that held a cluster of spears, 
representing weapons of war. President Truman redesigned the seal so 
the American eagle faced towards its right talons, which hold the olive 
branches of peace.
  I am so proud to hold the seat that Senator Truman held for 10 years.
  President Truman lived in Missouri his entire life, with exception to 
his years in government service. His strong work ethic and taste for 
politics developed early, working as a clerk for his father who was an 
election judge and participating in farming, bank clerking, and 
timekeeping. His strong sense of patriotism led him to join the 
Missouri Army National Guard in 1905 and later return to Active Duty 
when World War I began in 1917, where he served as a first lieutenant 
in the U.S. Army field artillery. After the war, he married Bess and 
was elected county judge of the eastern district of Jackson County. In 
1934, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and reelected by large margins 
in 1940.
  In 1944, then-Senator Truman was chosen to be the Vice Presidential 
candidate to President Franklin Roosevelt after a successful career in 
Congress revealing fraud in government wartime spending. Few Presidents 
after President Truman have faced the hardships he had awaiting him 
following the death of President Roosevelt and his succession to the 
Presidency in the spring of 1945.
  President Truman ended the largest and most devastating war in world 
history and began to rebuild the defeated Axis Powers shortly after. 
Rebuilding war-torn countries of former enemies had never been 
completed; however, President Truman did so successfully through the 
Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan. He was a strong negotiator in 
international affairs and oversaw the founding of the United Nations.
  President Truman left behind a highly respected legacy, and because 
of leaders like him, who fought hard and made difficult decisions, our 
country and world is a better place.
  I ask that the Senate join me in celebrating the 2018 White House 
Historical Association Christmas Ornament honoring President Harry S. 
Truman.

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