General Harry H. Vaughan Oral History Interviews

Notice
These are transcripts of tape-recorded interviews conducted for the Harry S. Truman Library. A draft of each transcript was edited by the interviewee but only minor emendations were made; therefore, the reader should remember that these are essentially transcripts of the spoken, rather than the written word.

Numbers appearing in square brackets (ex. [45]) within the transcript indicate the pagination in the original, hardcopy version of the oral history interview.

RESTRICTIONS
These oral history transcripts may be read, quoted from, cited, and reproduced for purposes of research. They may not be published in full except by permission of the Harry S. Truman Library.

A-bomb project, 68
Anderson, Clinton P., 49
Armed Forces, desegregation of the, 144-145
Army Reserve-National Guard merger, proposed, 126-128
Army, Secretary of the, 131
Ayers, Eben, 90
Aylward, James P., 50

Ball, Joseph H., 75-76
Baltimore Sun, 90
Barkely, Alben W., 113
Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 39, 51
Baylor University, 142-144
Berenstein, David, 47
Berry, Brig, Gen. Lucius, 2, 3-4
Blackstone Hotel, Chicago, I11., 66
Blair, James T., Jr., 115
Boyle, William, Jr., 57
Bradley, Gen. Omar N., 129
Brandt, Raymond P. (Pete), 153
Bridges, Styles, 75
Budget, Director of the Bureau of the, 130-131
Burton, Harold H., 61
Byrd, Harry F., 70
Byrnes, James F., 66, 67, 69, 70, 73-74, 148

Cabinet, the, 85, 86, 91
Camp Crowder, Mo., 54
Camp Lee, Va, 54
Camp Pickett, Va „ 54
Camp Ripley, Minn., 12, 26
Canfil, Fred A., 37-38, 53
Cape Girardeau, Mo., 45
Churchill, Winston S,, 83, 84, 116, 136, 137

• • speech at Westminster College, Fulton, Mo., March 5, 1946, 136-142
    Truman, Harry S., friendship with, 140-142
• Civil rights, 145-146
  Clark, Bennett C., 52, 72
  Clark, Charles P., 57
  Clifford, Clark M., 121
  Connelly, Matthew J., 57, 137, 149-150
  Conran, James V., 42
  Conway, Rose A., 88
  Curtis, Thomas B., 99

  Daniels, Jonathan, 89
  Davis, Manvel H., 53
  Defense contracts, World War II, 55
  Democratic National Committee, 112
  Democratic National Convention, 1944, 65-71
  Denfeld, Admiral Louis E., 129
  Dennison, Admiral Robert L., 121, 128
  Dickmann, Bernard F., 50
  Dickson, Charles M., 122
  Dodds, Harold W., 132
  Drescher, George C., 79, 80

  Eichelberger, Gen. Robert L., 98
  Eisenhower, Dwight D.

  • Assistant Commander-in-Chief, proposal to appoint as, 122
    MacArthur, Gen. Douglas, comments re as a Presidential candidate, 1948, 119-120
    as 1952 Presidential candidate, 113, 117-121
    Presidential candidate, 1948, availability as a, 117, 120
    Radford, Adm. A.W., appointment of as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 130
    Truman, H.S., promise of support by for political office, 121
    Vaughan, Harry H., first meeting with, 115-116
    Vaughan, Harry H., relations with as Military Aide to the President, 134-136
    and the White House staff, 100
  Erkin, Feridun C., 117
  Evans, M. R. (Bob), 39-40
  Evans, Tom L., 39

  Fair Deal, 153
  Fields, Alonzo, 102
  First National Bank, St. Louis, Mo., 41
  "Five-percenters inquiry", 104-107
  Folliard, Edward T., 152
  Forrestal, James V., 129
  Forster, Rudolph, 85
  Ft. Eustis, Va., 54
  Ft. George G. Meade,, Md., 54
  Ft. Leavenworth, Kans., 12
  Ft, Leonard Wood, Mo., 54
  Ft. Riley, Kans., 11, 12, 21
  Ft. Sill, Okla., 12, 15
  Foskett, Admiral James H., 117
  Freeman, Douglas S , 62, 63-64
  Fulton, Hugh, 56
  Fulton, Mo., 48, 139, 141

  Garner, John N., 69
  Gibson, Truman K., Jr., 132
  Government employees, 154-155
  Gray, Gordon, 131
  Green Foundation, 137
  Green, John R., 137
  Gualdoni, Louis J. (Gene), 43

  Hannegan, Robert E., 43-44, 51, 66, 67, 69, 70-71
  Harper, Roy, 45
  Harriman, Mrs. J. Borden (Daisy), 110-111
  "Harry's doghouse", 58
  Harry S. Truman Library dedication, 103
  Hassett, William D., 152
  Helm, Edith B., 103
  Helm, Neal W., 45-46
  Helm, William P., 45
  Hennings, Thomas C., Jr., 115
  Hirth, William, 50
  Hoey, Clyde R., 105
  Hoey Committee, 105
  Hoover, Herbert, 93
  Hopkins, William J., 84, 85

  Independence, Mo., 145

  Jackson, Robert H., 56
  Jacobson, Edward (Eddie), 7, 11, 22-24
  Jefferson City, Mo., 141
  Johnson, Louis A., 136
  Joint Chiefs of Staff, 91-92
  Jolly, Veronica (Veronica Donovan), 96-99

  Kansas City Journal, 45
  Kansas City, Mo., 44
  Kansas City Star, 108
  Kilgore, Harley M., 71

  Latta, Maurice J., 84-85
  Leahy, Admiral William D, 117, 148
  Lee, Frank H,, 38, 39
  Lewis, John L., 29

  MacArthur, Gen. Douglas, 119-120, 136
  Manhattan project, 68
  Marks, Ted, 21-22
  Marshall, Gen. George C., 64-65, 68, 81
  Masonic order, 51
  McCarthy, Joseph R., 105
  McCluer, Frank L., 137-139
  McCormick, Robert R., 119
  McDaniel, Lawrence, 44-45, 51
  McKim, Edward D., 14-19, 149-152
  Mead, James M., 60
  Messall, Victor R., 38-39
  Military Affairs Committee, U. S. Senate, 54-55
  Military Aide to the Vice President, 81-82
  Military secrecy, 61-62
  Milligan, Maurice M., 52-53
  Missouri Athletic Club, 17, 18
  Missouri Farmers Association, 50
  Morgenthau, Henry, Jr., 78
  Mundt, Karl, 105

  Nacy, Richard R., 42
  National Guard, 126-128
  National Guard Association, 127
  National Guard merger, with the Army Reserve, proposed, 126-128
  National Security Council, 91
  Navy Department, 128,129

  Odum, Reathel, 40-41
  102nd Division, 13
  129th Field Artillery Regiment, 1, 5, 9-10
  130th Field Artillery Regiment, 1, 3
  The Officer, 82, 127
  Ozark Division, 13

  Pace, Frank, Jr., 130-131
  Patterson, Eleanor Medill, 119
  Patterson, Joseph Medill, 119
  Pearson, Drew, 107, 153
  Pendergast, James M., 3, 5, 12, 29
  Pendergast, Thomas J, (Tom), 12, 29, 36
  Perlmeter, Irving, 90
  Poling, Daniel A., 132
  Potsdam Conference, 83-84, 116, 148
  President’s Advisory Commission on Military Training, 132-133
  Presidents of the U.S., evaluation of, 155-156
  Presidential campaign, 1948:

  • crowds, size of during campaign trips, 109
    Eisenhower for President boom, 121
  Presidential election, 1948, 107-111
  Presidential election, 1952, 113-114
  Presidential policymaking, 91-93
  Presidential press secretaries, 89-90
  Presidential Press Secretary, Office of, 90-91
  Press, the, 107, 108, 152-153
  Pye, John, 101-102

  Radford, Admiral Arthur W., 129
  Rayburn, Sam, 71
  Rekord, Maj. Gen. Milton, 127
  Reorganization of the White House staff, 1945, 150-151
  Reynolds, Robert R., 54-55
  Ridgway, Gen. Matthew B., 121
  Ritter, Roland, 15
  Roosevelt, Anna, 83
  Roosevelt, Franklin D., 52, 65, 69, 71

  • as an administrator, 86-87
    Cabinet relations with members of his, 85-86
    death of, 149
    health of, 76-78, 80
    inauguration; 1945, 77-78
    foreign affairs, URS,, failure to inform Vice President H.S. Truman concerning, 82-83
    physical condition of in 1944, 77-78
    and the War Department, 135-136
    and the White House staff, 100
  Roosevelt, Mrs. Franklin D. (Eleanor Roosevelt), 78, 83
  Rosenberg, Anna, 132
  Rosenman, Samuel I, 132
  Ross, Charles G,, 89-91, 121
  Royall, Kenneth C., 131

  St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 46
  St. Louis, Mo., 43, 46, 47
  St. Louis National Guard Armory, 126-127
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 35, 46, 89, 108, 153
  St. Louis Star, 46
  St. Mihiel, France, 9
  Salisbury; Spencer, 20-21
  Salomon,, Sidney, 43
  Secret Service, U,S, 79-80, 100
  Sedalia, Mo, 37
  Senate Office Building, 58
  Senate, U.S., 73-76
  Senatorial campaign, 1934, Missouri, 25-26
  Senatorial campaign, 1940, Missouri, 29-53
  Sermon, Roger, 38
  60th Field Artillery Regiment, 2
  77th Field Artillery Regiment, 15
  Short, Joseph H., 90
  Smith, Margaret Chase, 105
  Snyder, John W.:

  • as an Army reserve officer, 14
    banking career in St. Louis After World War I, 14
    Democratic National Convention, 1944, attendance at, 67
    Truman, Harry S., friendship with, 13-14, 16-19, 24, 40, 86
  Spaatz, Gen. Carl (Tooey), 117
  Stalin, Joseph V., 84
  Stark, Lloyd C., 32, 34-35, 45, 47, 52, 53
  Statler Hotel, St. Louis, Mo., 33-34
  Steelman, John R., 25, 132
  Stevenson, Adlai E., 114
  Sweeney, Lt. Col. Arthur, 99
  Symington, Stuart, 117, 129

  32nd Division, 13-14
  35th Division, 2
  Tompkins, William J., 49-50
  Tower Grove Sank, St. Louis, Mo., 41
  Truman, Harry S:

  • as an administrator, 85-89
    Army camps, tour of, Jan., 1941, 54
    Army officer, immaculate appearance as, 6
    Army Reserve-National Guard merger proposal, views on, 127-128
    Army Reserve officer training, participation in, 13-16, 21
    Baylor University, speech at, March 6, 1947, 142-144
    Byrnes, James F., commitment to at the 1944 Democratic National Convention, 66-67
    Byrnes, James F,, relationship with, 73
    Cabinet members, relationship with, 85-86
    as canteen officer, 129th Field Artillery, 7-8
    Churchill, Winston S,, friendship with, 138-142
    civil rights, advocacy of, 146
    Clark, Bennett C., relationship with, 52, 72
    debts resulting from failure of haberdashery, repayment of, 23
    decisions once made, refusal to worry about, 93
    decisions, promptness in making Presidential, 87
    Democratic vice-presidential candidate, 1944, selection as, 65-71
    education, 72
    and the "Eisenhower boom" (1948), 121
    eyeglasses, loss of during World War I, 9
    foreign affairs, lack of knowledge of on assuming the Presidency, 82-83
    Hannegan, R. E., appointment as chairman, Democratic National Committee, 70-71
    Interstate Commerce Committee, as member of U.S. Senate, 27
    isolationism, attitude regarding, 72
    Jacobson, Eddie, visit to store of in while President, 23-24
    Lewis, John L., regard for, 29
    magazine and newspaper articles, refusal to accept fees for, 62
    Marks, Ted, friendship with, 21-22
    Marshall, George C., relationship with, 64-65
    McKim, Edward D., personal friendship with, 14-19
    and McKim, Edward D., practical joke by on H. H. Vaughan, 17-19
    Military Aide, first Vice President to have, 81
    nearsightedness, 8
    as a poker player, 95
    political career, start of, 11-12
    political philosophy of, 153-154
    at the Potsdam Conference, 116, 148-149
    President, ability to relax from official duties, 93-94
    President, evaluation of as a, 156
    President, self-confidence as, 147-148
    Presidential campaign, 1948, 107-110
    Presidential policymaking, methods employed in, 91-93
    Press secretaries, 89-90
    protocol, views concerning, 102-103
    railroad legislation, knowledge of, 27-28
    reading habits, 72
    Roosevelt, F.D., concern regarding health of, 77, 80
    Roosevelt, F.D., meeting with after 1944 Democratic National Convention, 76-77
    Roosevelt, F.D., relationship with as Senator, 67-68
    Secret Service guard, first Vice President to have, 78-79
    Senate colleagues, relationship with as President with former, 75-76
    Senate office, description of, 58
    Senate, U.S., refusal to run for in 1952, 114-115
    Senator, U.S. 1934 campaign for, 26
    Senator, U.S., first term as, 26-29
    Senatorial campaign, 1940, 29-53
    Senatorial campaign speeches, 47
    Snyder, John W., friendship with, 14
    speeches, preparation for delivery of, 94-95
    speeches, refusal to accept fees for while in U.S. Senate, 63
    Stevenson, Adlai E., candidacy for President, 1952, 114
    third term, decision not to seek, 112
    379th Field Artillery Regiment, as commanding officer of the, 13
    Truman Committee, broadcast concerning intended role of, 59
    Truman Committee, establishment of, 55
    Truman Committee staff, dinner for members of, 63
    unification of the Armed Forces, role in the, 128-130
    universal military training, views regarding, 132-133
    Vaughan, Harry H., association with in France during World War I, 5-6
    Vaughan, Harry H., first meeting with, 2-5
    Vaughan, Harry H., refusal to accept resignation of as Military Aide, 105
    Vice President, inauguration as, 77-78
    Vice-Presidential office, administration of the, 81
    Vinson, P.M., support of as 1952 Democratic Presidential candidate, 112-113
    weather forcasting, interest in, 100-101
    wedding, 21-22
    Wheeler, Burton K., friendship with, 74-75
    White House staff, loyalty to, 88
    White House staff meetings, 88, 91-93
    White House staff members, lunches with, 101-102
    White House staff, relationship with, 100-102
    White House staff reorganization, 150-151
    work, capacity for, 28
    World War I experiences, 2-10
  Truman, Mrs. Harry S. (Bess Wallace Truman), 78, 111
  Truman Committee:
  • comparison with Civil War Committee on the Conduct of the War, 63-64
    dinner for given by Harry S. Truman, 63
    establishment of, reasons for, 54
    investigation procedures, 54-59
    Manhattan project, requested not to investigate, 68
    military secrecy, investigation of, 61-62
    overseas inspection trip by members of, Dec., 1944-Jan., 1945, 61
    reunion of members, 76
    staff assignments, 58-59
    staff, employment of, 56-57
  Truman for Senator Clubs (1940), 47
  Tubby, Roger, 90
  Tucker, Raymond, 43
  Tunnell, James M,, 61

  Unification of the Armed Forces, 128-130
  Universal military training, 132-133

  Vaccaro, Ernest B. (Tony), 52-53
  Vandenberg, Arthur H., 75
  Van Sant, T.H. (Tom), 48-49, 142
  Vardaman, James K., (Jake), 25, 41
  Vaughan, Harry H.:

  • Army Reserve and National Guard merger proposal, role in, 126-128
    Army Reserve officer training, participation in, 12-23
    Churchill, W.S. 1946 speech at Fulton, Mo., role in preparations for, 136-142
    commanding officer of the 380th Field Artillery Regiment, 13
    as Coordinator of Veterans Affairs, 124-125
    Democratic candidate for President, 1952, suggests F.M. Vinson as, 112
    Democratic National Convention, 1944, absence from, 65
    Eisenhower, D. D., conversation with re Presidential boom for Gen. D. MacArthur, 1948, 120
    Military Aide to the President, offer to resign as, 105
    Military Aide to the Vice President, first to be appointed, 81
    National Guard-Army Reserve merger, article re in The Officer magazine, 127
    President H.S. Truman, as advisor to, 92
    Presidential election, 1948, confidence in HST victory, 107-108
    press attacks on honesty and loyalty of White House staff, opinion of, 107-108
    press, criticism of, by the, 104
    press secretaries, estimate of President Truman's, 90-91
    scrapbooks, 1
    Senate investigation of, 1949, 104-106
    Senate office of H.S. Truman, in charge of, 59-60
    third term as President, first knowledge of HST decision against, 112
    Truman Committee, inspection trips for, 60-61
    Truman Committee, role in formation of, 59
    Truman Committee and the War Department, as a liaison officer between, 60-61
    Truman, Harry S., association in France with during World War T, 5-6
    Truman, Harry S., evaluation of as a President, 156
    Truman, Harry S., first meeting with, 2-5
    Truman, Harry S., meetings with during first term as Senator, 26-27
    Truman, Harry S., and E. D. McKim, object of practical joke by, 16-19
    Truman, Harry S., and 1934 Senate campaign, 25-26
    Truman, Harry S., as secretary to Senator, 53-54
    Truman for Senator campaign committee, 1940, as treasurer of, 29-37
    United States, return to after World War I, 6-7
    and Universal military training proposals, 133-134
    War Department, service as liaison between President Harry S. Truman and, 134-135
    Whipping Boy First Class, as author of, 1
    World War I, experiences in, 2-10
  Verdun, France, 6
  Veterans organizations, 124-125
  Vice President, U.S., 78-81
  Vinson, Fred M., 112, 136

  Walker, John, 80
  Wallace, Henry A,, 69
  Wallgren, Mon C,, 71
  War Department, 60, 128-129, 134
  War surplus material, 61
  Washington Post, 152
  Watson, Maj. Gen. Edwin M., 136
  Wear, Sam M., 42-43
  Westminster College, 137
  Wheeler, Burton K., 27, 74-75
  White House, 151
  White House correspondents, 90-91, 152-153
  White House staff, 106-107, 149
  White House staff lunchroom, 101
  Wilson, Maj, Gen, Arthur, 96, 97
  Woodring, Harry H., 136