Ted Marks Oral History Interview

Notice
This is a transcript of a tape-recorded interview conducted for the Harry S. Truman Library. A draft of this transcript was edited by the interviewee but only minor emendations were made; therefore, the reader should remember that this is essentially a transcript 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
This oral history transcript may be read, quoted from, cited, and reproduced for purposes of research. It may not be published in full except by permission of the Harry S. Truman Library.

Opened May, 1963
Harry S. Truman Library
Independence, Missouri

[1]

FUCHS: Mr. Marks, I imagine your name is Theodore Marks, is that correct?

MARKS: Theodore, but they call me "Ted." Nobody calls me Theodore.

FUCHS: Have they always called you Ted since you came to this country?

MARKS: Yes. Mr. Truman once in a while will say, "Hello Theodore," but we laugh and that's it. He likes to kid me, you know about those things.

FUCHS: Have you a middle name?

MARKS: No, no middle name. When we were born in England, they didn't look for middle names. It was John Jones or whatever.

FUCHS: What year were you born and where in England?

MARKS: November the 7th, 1882, in Liverpool, England.

FUCHS: And then, you lived in Liverpool most of your life in England?

MARKS: Yes, then we moved to Nottingham -- the lace industry there. It was well-known for the lace manufacture.

[2]

FUCHS: About what year was that?

MARKS: I was about eleven or twelve years old at that time, when my folks moved.

FUCHS: Did you have any brothers and sisters?

MARKS: Yes, I had three brothers and two sisters.

FUCHS: I see. And then your folks came over here about what year? Maybe you can remember better by how old you were when you came over?

MARKS: I was twenty-one -- twenty-two, somewhere around there.

FUCHS: How long had your folks been over here then?

MARKS: They had been over here about two or three years, if I remember right. You see I had served in the Grenadier Guards.

FUCHS: You were in the Grenadier Guards?

MARKS: Yes, I ran away from home when I was seventeen and enlisted in the Grenadier Guards and became a corporal.

FUCHS: Seventeen -- that would have been about 1899. You joined the Guards and your folks came over here a few years after that.

[3]

MARKS: Yes, a few years after that. My father came over with my eldest brother and then he sent for my mother and my two sisters and my other brothers. I came over by myself.

FUCHS: They came to Kansas City immediately when they...?

MARKS: Yes, my father met some fellow on the train and he told him that Kansas City was a good town to come to and that's why he came here, and he never left Kansas City.

FUCHS: You mean on the train after he got in this country? Where were they headed for at the time?

MARKS: Well, he was going west somewhere; I don't know where he was going. They didn't know at the time.

FUCHS: You served in the Guard then from the time you were seventeen until...?

MARKS: I served three years. Yes, I was in the Second Battalion, Grenadier Guards and Lord Gordon Gilmoor was the commanding officer; Lord Peel was another officer; the Honorable Gathorne-Hardy was another officer in our regiment. While I was in the Guards, of course, we stood on the outside and took all we could bear from the

[4]

civilians watching us. I understand now they put them on the inside of the gates of Buckingham Palace.

FUCHS: I think there was recently something in the paper about the people heckling them.

MARKS: Yes, that's what I saw. When we were there, of course, we stood on the front gates and the boys and girls would come up and touch your buttons or something like that, you know. And then we used to go up to the Bank of England. It was an old custom. The bank was well-guarded but they decided to send a guard up to the bank every evening. We would march up the Thames embankment to the bank and we would ask each other, "Who's the officer of the guard tonight?" If we knew he was a sportsman, we anticipated riding up on the bus; however, if he was struggling along, why, we would walk. And I won't tell you the names we used to call him to ourselves.

FUCHS: Well, that's very interesting. Then did you leave the guards to come to this country or did you get out and pursue some other occupation over there for awhile.

MARKS: No, I left the Guards and came to Liverpool and stayed there a while and then came over to this country.

[5]

FUCHS: Did you start your occupation as a tailor while you were in England?

MARKS: Yes, I was a tailor in England. In those days, of course, we used to sit on the floor and make coats.

FUCHS: Was this after you were out of the Guards, or before?

MARKS: After I was out of the Guards.

FUCHS: About how many years did you practice tailoring in England before you came over?

MARKS: Well, of course, as a youngster my father had a workshop in one of the rooms in the house and when we came from school we'd have to go up and thread needles so he wouldn't have to thread them.

FUCHS: Oh, your father was a tailor?

MARKS: Oh yes. My two brothers were tailors as well. One brother stayed in England. He raised two boys; one came over to this country recently and he was a lieutenant in the second war, in the English Navy -- my brother's boy in England. He was here recently to see us, my sister and I. He's up in Canada now. He's something with the schools up there. He's a very smart young fellow.

[6]

FUCHS: Then what year did you come to the United States?

MARKS: 1906. Yes, 1906

FUCHS: You landed in New York?

MARKS: I landed in New York. Came steerage into New York and got on a train and didn't know where to go.

FUCHS: Had your folks anticipated your coming?

MARKS: Yes, but I decided to come to see the folks first and that's where I met a fellow on the train and in talking to him, he said Kansas City was a good town to come to.

FUCHS: You knew your folks were here.

MARKS: Yes, I told him that I was coming here. He told me it was a good town to be in. So, that's how I came to Kansas City.

Upon arriving in Kansas City, I met a fellow named Trenary and he had a boy in the National Guard, and Trenary was the chief mechanic, and he told me it would be a fine thing for me if I would join the National Guard and get acquainted with some people. So, I met him one night and went down to the battery at 17th and Highland where I met a corporal. I was told to go upstairs to the battery clerk's office. Upon arriving there

[7]

I saw a corporal sitting at the desk who wore glasses. He said, "What can I do for you?"

I said, "I'd like to enlist, sir."

He said, "How long have you been in this country?"

"About six months, sir."

"You speak pretty good English for the time you've been here."

And I thought, "What kind of country is this to come to?"

FUCHS: You say that this man you met here was the chief mechanic of the battery.

MARKS: Battery -- National Guard.

FUCHS: Oh, they had a position they called a mechanic?

MARKS: Yes, in those days -- chief mechanic.

FUCHS: What were their duties?

MARKS: Well, we had guns there -- three inch guns -- and if anything went wrong he could tinker around with them. Yes, he knew the guns. He had a son in the National Guards. He was a bugler -- Ira Trenary.

FUCHS: You said you had been. In the country about six

[8]

months. Had that time been spent mostly in Kansas City?

MARKS: Yes, in Kansas City.

FUCHS: You were here sometime before you went and enlisted in the National Guard?

MARKS: It was probably about six months and I met this fellow and he knew my father and we were discussing the service, and I was very much interested in the military and I wanted to get acquainted with the fellows here, so I enlisted. Of course, Harry Truman was the battery clerk.

FUCHS: Did any more words pass at that time, between you and Mr. Truman?

MARKS: No, not at that time. I was taken downstairs to the drill. They were drilling that night. Captain George R. Collins was the commanding officer, and he introduced me to the battery members and I was one of them.

FUCHS: Did you have to pay twenty-five cents, I believe it was, a night to drill? There's something I've seen -- Mr. Truman wrote about in his Memoirs, where he said they went out to some hall and paid twenty-five cents a night for the privilege of drilling. I wondered what

[9]

that had reference to. You don't recall anything about that?

MARKS: No, I do not. It may be that they went to drill somewhere and they charged them for it; I wouldn't know. I don't remember.

FUCHS: You didn't have that experience.

MARKS: No, I did not have that experience.

FUCHS: Were you living at home at the time, with your folks?

MARKS: Yes, with my folks.

FUCHS: Were you practicing tailoring at that time?

MARKS: Yes, I was a tailor and got a job in Kansas City. Started out at twenty-five dollars a week, which was comfortable in those days.

FUCHS: You weren't working with your father then as a tailor?

MARKS: No.

FUCHS: Was he a practicing tailor.

MARKS: He had a store on -- 13th and Walnut -- on 13th Street.

FUCHS: Your father had a store there, you say, but you didn't go in with him. Where did you work?

[10]

MARKS: For Bergfeldt and Roueche. They were tailors for a number of years -- high-class tailors. In those days they used to charge seventy-five dollars for a suit, which was quite a large sum. I belonged to the Merchants Tailor's Association later on when I went in business for myself. We would meet once a month and discuss the problems we were having in fitting people and it was quite interesting. Each one would say something about his difficulties and that's where we could straighten them out. It was a great help -- that was the Merchant Tailor's Association.

FUCHS: About what year did you go in business for yourself? Was it before World War I?

MARKS: Yes. I closed my business to go down to the Mexican border. Then I came back and opened up again, and six months later I closed again and went overseas.

FUCHS: Well, Mr. Truman, as you know, served two three-year hitches, from 1906 to 1911. Do you have any memories of him at various drills or any other meetings that the Guard had during that period?

MARKS: No, I didn't at that time because he was up in the office most of the time during the drill night, and we

[11]

would be drilling down in the basement or out in the field.

FUCHS: He spent his time as a corporal in the orderly room?

MARKS: In the orderly room because there was plenty to do there with the records. Occasionally he would come down and drill.

FUCHS: Well now, there were other corporals, did they pass the duty around or did he have a assignment as -- I don't know what the title would have been -- as orderly room officer there?

MARKS: Battery clerk. He was a non-commissioned officer -- corporal, I believe at the time.

FUCHS: He was the battery clerk for Battery B and that was then the 2nd Missouri Field Artillery?

MARKS: At that time it wasn't called the 2nd Missouri; that came later on. It was just Battery B of the Missouri National Guard.

FUCHS: And there was one battery here and another...?

MARKS: Another in St. Louis. Battery A was in St. Louis; Battery B in Kansas City; and Battery C in Independence.

[12]

FUCHS: Was that all the National Guard that there was in the state?

MARKS: Yes.

FUCHS: As you say, Mr. Truman spent most of his time in the orderly room, so you didn't really have much contact with him in those years.

MARKS: He would come down once in a while for drill, but there was quite a number of things to do in an office when fellows were enlisting -- keeping records -- making out papers for them. So he didn't have too much time; but he did drill occasionally on the first floor, we had a drill room.

FUCHS: Who were some of the other officers or non-commissioned officers at that time?

MARKS: Lieutenant Boxley was one of them; he was a very fine officer. Dr. Pittam was the medical officer; George Collins was the captain at that time.

FUCHS: That was the ranking commanding officer?

MARKS: George R. Collins was the ranking officer of the battery. He was very strict and had a good battery

[13]

at that time.

FUCHS: Were there other non-commissioned officers, that you recall in addition to Mr. Truman?

MARKS: I don't remember.

FUCHS: You were a private in the ranks, at that time.

MARKS: Yes, at about that time, I was a private in the ranks.

FUCHS: You say that in 1916 you went to the border with Pershing?

MARKS: I don't know about Pershing. We went down on the Mexican border in 1916. I was in business and closed my business and went down with the battery. Of course, I was supposed to go, so I went down there with them, and was first sergeant on the Mexican border. Spent six months on the Mexican border. Then, I came back and opened up my business again. Then in the spring, I closed it again to go overseas.

FUCHS: I believe I earlier said 1906 to 1911 -- actually Mr. Truman was in the Guard from 1905 until 1911 -- in those years you don't have a great many recollections of seeing him, and then in 1911, of course, he was back on the farm and he dropped out of the Guard; then he came back in

[14]

1917. Between 1911, when he was out of the Guard, and 1917, do you have any memories of contact with him during those years or did you sort of lose track of each other.

MARKS: Well, I'd see him occasionally. I don't remember. I can't think of the fellow's name that was with him. I think he was doing something -- had some kind of job downtown, for two or three years, I guess. If I remember correctly.

FUCHS: Well, before the war he went into the oil business.

MARKS: That was later on, of course.

FUCHS: That was with Jerry Culbertson and a David Morgan and that was around '16 or '17. He had to drop out of that to go to the war. You have some recollection of that?

MARKS: I remember him speaking of Culbertson, in fact, I think I met Mr. Culbertson at one time. We began to be together more in those days.

FUCHS: Then, in 1917, the battery expanded, is that correct, into the regiment?

MARKS: Yes, the battery was part of the regiment -- the

[15]

129th Field Artillery recruited a number of men. (Battery A in St. Louis, Battery B in Kansas City, and Battery C in Independence.) They built up with recruits for D, E, and F. Then they assigned the officers to these batteries.

FUCHS: Do you remember Mr. Truman playing a particular role in that expansion of the battery?

MARKS: Well, he was around all right in those days. We spent quite a number of hours around there doing things -- arranging things with some of the officers, I remember. You see, being the battery clerk in B battery, he knew a lot of them and they would get together and discuss with him some of the important things, I presume.

FUCHS: I just wondered what his capacity was. It's been said that he helped expand the battery into the regiment, but, of course, he'd been out of the battery and was no longer the battery clerk. Then he came back in and when the batteries were organized, he became the first lieutenant -- he was elected the junior first lieutenant in F Battery, I believe.

MARKS: Well, when they were going to organize, he was very

[16]

active then in helping to organize the regiment. Then he was assigned to F Battery and was assigned later to C Battery and came later to command D Battery. Of course, I was in B Battery and was assigned later to C Battery as commanding officer.

FUCHS: Was that when you were still in this country or was that overseas?

MARKS: No, that was here.

FUCHS: That was after you had gone to Camp Doniphan?

MARKS: Yes.

FUCHS: Then were you elected as an officer?

MARKS: We elected officers, that was it. I was elected a second lieutenant and had no assignment at that time. But then when the batteries were organized, I was the first lieutenant in Battery B with Tom McGee. He was the first lieutenant. Then I was transferred later on, to Battery C as commanding officer, before we went overseas. Captain Dancy commanded Battery A.

FUCHS: That was Keith Dancy.

[17]

MARKS: Yes, Keith Dancy.

FUCHS: Do you have any recollection of the canteen that Mr. Truman and Eddie Jacobson operated at Camp Doniphan?

MARKS: Yes, they organized this canteen down at Doniphan and it was considered one of the best-run canteens in the service. They were very strict. They had quite a large assortment of things and they made a lot of money for the batteries. At the end of the month, they would know the profits and some of it went to the batteries for certain things, you see, to help them out.

FUCHS: That was remarked upon at the time that it was an exceptionally well-run canteen?

MARKS: Yes, yes. We'd have men from other regiments coming in when it was down there to buy things. Of course, Eddie Jacobsen, as you know, was a very good provider here. He knew his business; he was a very good business man. Harry took care of the financial part of the deal and served. He served, like anyone else, the customers as they came in.

FUCHS: Oh, he worked in the canteen?

[17a]

MARKS: Yes. Once in a while you'd see him in there, you know. He'd say, "What can I do for you?" He had a lot to do with organizing that canteen.

FUCHS: I've seen notes someplace that he was the regimental school instructor while he was at Doniphan. Now, do you have a recollection of that and just what that would have entailed? I always assumed that that meant a regimental school in which they taught artillery practice and so forth, and I was wondering...?

MARKS: We had schools down there, of course, before we went

[18]

overseas -- after we got in the Federal service. Harry would be called upon to teach some of these things to the other officers -- make speeches to them about some of the things to be done.

FUCHS: Did you do that same sort of thing?

MARKS: Well, they would call upon you occasionally as to what your opinion of something was. We went to school and the regular Army would have an officer there and quiz us to see what we knew about our jobs as battery commanders. We had to be on our toes, because they were sending officers home all the time; and it was the last thing I'd want to do, and I'm sure anyone else would want to do, was to go home and say you weren't qualified. So, you can just think how hard we worked there. We didn't have much time there to spare -- to waste.

FUCHS: Do you remember Mr. Truman as being adept at speaking, and did he seem to have confidence in those days?

MARKS: Oh yes, with his battery. He was very strict with them and he knew what he wanted to do for the battery, and he had a darn good battery.

FUCHS: I was thinking of his ability to get up and instruct and give a lecture. Did he do well at that sort of thing?

[19]

MARKS: Yes, very well. Better than I'd do.

FUCHS: Mr. Truman, I believe, had a Stafford touring car. Do you have any recollections of that around the post there? There's a story that he took his car to camp.

MARKS: I remember he had a car, but I don't remember the incident and the name of it. It was an old-time car, and I think he had that for a while there, but what happened to it later on, I do not know.

FUCHS: Was he one of the few, or did quite a few of the officers bring cars?

MARKS: I don't think there were many of them who brought any cars up there. I don't know how he got his there. I remember the incident now, I'd forgotten.

FUCHS: Now, Mr. Truman went over on what might be called an advance detail to take further artillery training. Did you go over then?

MARKS: There was a detail that was sent overseas -- an overseas detail -- I forget how many and who some of them were. Harry Truman was one of them. I think most of them were lieutenants -- second lieutenants and first lieutenants. I think Major Gates had something to do with it. Harry was put in command of them to organize the thing.

[19a]

FUCHS: Do you have any other memories of Camp Doniphan in which Mr. Truman is vividly associated?

MARKS: No, we didn't see too much of each other at Doniphan. We were very busy, because while we were in Camp Doniphan

[20]

we were out on maneuvers and training for overseas duty; and as far as I'm concerned, I tried to do the best I could do. I had my hands full to take care of 175 or 180 men and I went downtown very little.

FUCHS: That was to what town?

MARKS: Lawton, Oklahoma. We were at Camp Doniphan.

FUCHS: You didn't go into the town on leave very often?

MARKS: No, I don't think I was in town but two or three times. I don't want to talk about myself.

FUCHS: That's all right. We want you to.

MARKS: It took me longer probably at that time, to get things done. I knew what I wanted and I was tense in getting it done and sometimes I thought it better if I didn't go. That was the idea. I would have liked to have gone more. Very seldom I went downtown.

FUCHS: You thought you better stay home and look after the shop most of the time.

MARKS: Yes. Because at night the commanding general would walk around and see if you were on the job studying. I remember one night he came into my tent and I couldn't

[21]

hear him walking around -- he had slippers on -- and sat on the bed. He sat on the corner where the pillow was and the pillow slipped and he fell over. He wanted to know what I was reading -- we'd always have a drill book out, reading it when he came around. He wanted to know what I was looking at. He would ask where some other officer was and I'd say, "Well, he's down at the canteen; he was here a few minutes ago." That was it.

FUCHS: Do you think Mr. Truman went into town a little more than you did?

MARKS: I think he did. Occasionally, but not too much. None of us went into town too much. The commanding general was around.

FUCHS: Mr. Truman, I believe, went overseas fairly soon after he got to Camp Doniphan. He couldn't have gone very much, as you say.

MARKS: None of them went to town very much. There was nothing in town, but occasionally they'd go to buy something they really needed before they went overseas. Maybe something to do with the canteen in town. As I say, I was tense and wanted to make sure that everything was so, in other words, I didn't want to be sent home.

[22]

FUCHS: You wanted to make a success of your duties as an officer and be certain you got overseas.

What is your first recollection of Mr. Truman over in France, do you recall seeing him there during combat?

MARKS: Yes, I'd see him occasionally. Of course, when we moved into position you wouldn't see them for several days until we got back to the billets. Overseas we were billeted in different towns, you see -- in the small towns. They'd put Battery A in one small town and a few miles would be Battery B -- all in the circle somewhere around there. There wasn't enough room for all the batteries in one town when we went into the Vosges Mountains.

FUCHS: What ship did you go over on?

MARKS: Let's see now. We went over on the Saxonia. Harry was on the overseas detail and preceded us. There was a large convoy that went over there.

FUCHS: Had you already assumed command of the battery at that time? You received your captaincy over here in this country?

MARKS: Yes, before I went overseas.

FUCHS: Mr. Truman, of course, after he was over on this detail, got his promotion. They've said a number of times that Mr.

[23]

Truman took over D Battery after five other captains had been unable to make it a success, But in the book, The Artilleryman, by J.M. Lee,* which lists the captains of Battery D, it only shows four, including Mr. Truman, which means there would have only been three preceding him, if it's correct.

MARKS: That's probably -- there wouldn't be more than that. I can't remember the names.

FUCHS: Do you think it's more than likely that there were only three captains who did precede him, rather than the five which some of these writers of biographies of Mr. Truman have alluded to?

MARKS: I think that three is closer. I'm sure that there was not more than that.

FUCHS: You were saying that after you were over there, you did have some contact with him before the end of the war.

MARKS: Yes, we'd see each other occasionally. Of course, we were in the Vosges Mountains first and you couldn't see each other. One battery was up in this mountain and another battery along another road but we came into -- I remember one time when we were there, three batteries

*Kansas City, Missouri: Spencer Printing Co., 1920, p. 347.

[24]

were on top of that mountain.. We were going to fire a gas barrage that night and we were waiting for the guns to come up. The colonel had ordered the guns up to these different positions, and we rode a horse up there waiting for the batteries to arrive. We were very tense then -- to get to firing and we knew that as soon as we fired, they would retaliate. As soon as we fired these gas barrages, we beat it in a hurry down the mountainside. It was raining, I remember, that night, and a boy in one of the batteries broke a leg coming down, Ned Boyer. He later was here in Kansas City. A gun wheel went over his leg. It's strange in those mountains. We had the maps, of course, and we'd take this trail up to the top and go into position and fire so many round of gas, then move out. It was dark when we moved out. However, the worst thing was, you couldn't carry a lantern because the enemy was there and you didn't know the people in the Vosges Mountains, whether they were friends or enemies, at that time. There was a Frenchman with a lantern, swinging it around, and one of the men kicked the lantern out of his hand and it went down the side of the mountain. He was afraid that he might be -- right or wrong -- he didn't want to take any chances that he might be a spy signaling. I remember that I had a mission down in the Mittlach Valley, called the Kiosque Barrage. That

[25]

was the barrage to fire when it seemed like there might be an attack coming. Each one had a sector to cover, you see. Mine was the Kiosque Barrage, down in the valley. Some of the batteries were up in the mountains. Well, of course, it was dark and raining and we'd never been up the mountainside before and we had a dickens of a time getting down the side of that mountain in the dark with small lanterns. When I arrived next morning, the colonel came by my place and wanted to know where I had been last night, and I told him the story. He said, "Well, we called on you for a barrage and you were not there." See, that's how tough it was in those days.

FUCHS: The Kiosque Barrage -- was that some sort of code name or was that an area?

MARKS: No, it was a point up in the mountains. You could see it through the valley. You see, each one would have a barrage to fire in the mountains and mine was at the low part of the mountain and I could look right up that valley. The Kiosque was a place where you could fire up into these hills, you see.

FUCHS: Did you have regimental officer's meetings in those days or was it just primarily battery meetings? In other words,

[26]

did you officers get together from time to time and did you see Mr. Truman?

MARKS: No, I didn't see Mr. Truman in the Vosges Mountains after we dispersed to go up to different roads to the mountains -- why, we didn't see each other until we came out, except to fire a gas barrage.

FUCHS: They didn't call the officers together for meetings? They ran the orders up to you.

MARKS: Yes, that's it. Where to fire on certain points. But I was very close to Harry Truman's battery that night. He was on my left as we were facing the front.

FUCHS: I see. Now, when you came back from overseas, Mr. Truman got married shortly.

MARKS: Yes, soon after he came back.

FUCHS: You were in his wedding, is that right?

MARKS: Yes, he asked me whether I would stand up for him at his wedding, and I said I would consider it an honor.

FUCHS: Were you about the closest man to him at that time, or how did you happen to...
.
MARKS: Well, for some reason, we were always together. In

[27]

fact, when we came home I opened my tailor's shop, and my tailors made a little saw-tooth checked suit for me and I had one made for Mr. Truman in the same color. We looked like twins. I think he was married in that. He didn't wear dress clothes to be married.

FUCHS: The suit wasn't made particularly for the wedding though?

MARKS: I think that's what it was for; if I remember right. Yes. Of course, they wouldn't wear it today, you know. It was a little check -- black and white.

FUCHS: You went right back to tailoring clothes then?

MARKS: Oh yes, when I got back I moved into the Board of Trade building, in the arcade, and had a nice store there. A number of the businessmen from the Board of Trade were my clients.

FUCHS: Were there quite a few people at Mr. Truman's wedding?

MARKS: Yes, there were a lot of people there.

FUCHS: Did the battery members attend?

MARKS: The battery members were there -- yes. It was just a quiet wedding, didn't take long. I was nervous, holding the ring. Then, after the wedding, I took his mother down

[28]

to see Harry off. She had me by the arm, you know, and she was a small woman, and I said to her, "Well, now, Mrs. Truman, you've lost Harry."

And she looked up at me with those little blue eyes and said, "Indeed I haven't." And she never did. I can see her face to this day.

FUCHS: There was an usher named Alden Millard who was in the wedding. Do you know who he was?

MARKS: The name's familiar. He must have been one of his men, wasn't he?

FUCHS: I really don't know. I've never seen anything else on him, but in the newspaper article, it says the ushers were George Wallace and Alden Millard. Did you remember them taking pictures at the wedding or was that not done in those days?

MARKS: I don't remember them taking any pictures and I never saw a picture of the wedding, did you?

FUCHS: No, I haven't.

MARKS: I don't think there were any pictures taken. They'd take them now, wouldn't they?

[29]

FUCHS: Oh, yes. Then did you take Mrs. Truman back to the farm?

MARKS: Well, it was Grandview, but it was the old home. The old farm. I used to go and see her there once in a while. We became great friends.

FUCHS: You had an automobile then?

MARKS: Oh, sure, I had an automobile. I told you about being arm in arm with his mother and I said, "You've lost Harry now."

FUCHS: Well, that's an interesting story. She didn't think she had.

MARKS: She looked up at me with those little blue eyes and she said, "Indeed I haven't." And she never did. I used to go see her once in a while, and Harry would be there and he'd take a nap while he was there. He always liked to nap when he had the opportunity. Just a few minutes. He'd close his eyes and lay down and he'd come up ready to go again.

FUCHS: Did you participate in reserve activity right after the war?

[30]

MARKS: Yes, I was in the reserve and took the general staff and command course.

FUCHS: Did this start right in 1919 -- you went right on?

MARKS: I kept on going after that time. Yes, it was the general staff and command course at Leavenworth.

I remember one time Harry and I were ordered up to Leavenworth and I didn't see him. He was alone in another room and I was in a room to myself. .And it was a test of your ability to give orders. You had a telephone there and an order would come down as to what was happening up front. You'd have to communicate with your officers over the phone -- each one, tell them what to do and that's how we passed the examination up there. That was tough.

FUCHS: Yes, it sounds like it would be. Mr. Truman stayed in the reserves, too?

MARKS: Yes, he was very much interested in the reserves -- stayed there and was very active in there.

FUCHS: He continued right after the war though, there wasn't any lapse of time?

MARKS: No, he continued on.

[31]

FUCHS: When did you start going to summer camps? Was that right away?

MARKS: You mean after the war?

FUCHS: After the war, yes.

MARKS: No, for a while I think I missed a few with business, of course, and I think he did too. He was traveling some at that time. That's as near as I can remember. I don't remember going to summer camp.

FUCHS: You did go to summer camp later on with Mr. Truman?

MARKS: Yes, we were both very much interested in the service. He was a colonel and I was a major.

FUCHS: As you know, Mr. Truman went into the haberdashery in 1919 -- started a men's furnishings business. Did you have any part in his decision to do that?

MARKS: No, he told me he was going into business. I already was in business before I went overseas, you see, and so I went back to my tailoring establishment. Then he opened up. We used to meet there in the evenings -- some of his battery members would meet there. Judge Ridge would be there sometimes.

[32]

FUCHS: He didn't ask your advice as to whether you thought it would be good...?

MARKS: No, we discussed it and I told him he had a lot of friends and should do well.

FUCHS: He had already made the decision?

MARKS: Eddie Jacobson and he were great friends and had discussed this before they went home, I think, because they went into business together.

FUCHS: Did he sell suits at the haberdashery or just hats...?

MARKS: I think they had just gent's furnishings and I think there was maybe some kind of summer suits or something like that -- lightweight, if I remember correctly.

FUCHS: You didn't feel like he was in competition with you?

MARKS: Oh, no, no. I would make his clothes.

FUCHS: Even at that time.

MARKS: Oh, yes, sure. I used to make all his clothes. I made all his evening clothes.

FUCHS: He would have been wearing tailor-made clothing even when he was selling ready made suits himself?

[33]

MARKS: Well, Eddie took part of it. Harry would get around a lot, you know, and was mixing with people. He never stayed in the store all day -- he would get out and go to lunches and mix with people, you know. He was very well-known in that way and Eddie Jacobson would stay around and take care of the business.

FUCHS: Did you go in the store frequently?

MARKS: Oh yes, especially in the evenings. We'd sit around and gas about the war or something like that. What we should have done and what we shouldn't do.

FUCHS: Did the store stay open most evenings?

MARKS: Well, in those days, if I remember correctly, the store was open in the evenings. After I'd close my store, I'd go over there and -- course, it was a busy place along there then, and it picked up a lot of business they wouldn't do otherwise.

FUCHS: Do you remember Judge Ridge studying there -- of course, he was not "judge" at that time -- studying law?

MARKS: Yes. He would always have books under his arms. I remember Judge Ridge had an old dilapidated car in those days. Of course, just coming back from the war he was just

[34]

a kid, a young fellow then, and he had a girl. We'd ride in this car, and he was going to get married, you know, and I'd talk to his girl and say, "Let's pretend." And I'd put my arm around.

And he'd say, "Limey, you better come up to the front here." Just having fun with him, you see. He married that same girl. She was a wonderful girl.

FUCHS: Did you participate in the American Legion activities right after the war?

MARKS: Yes, also in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I was past-commander of the 35th Division of Veterans of Foreign Wars at that time and a member of the Legion...

FUCHS: Do you mean the 35th Division Veterans of Foreign Wars?

MARKS: Yes, 35th Division.

FUCHS: Did they have their own group?

MARKS: Yes, they had their own group, all members of the 35th Division.

FUCHS: Was that part of the organization we now know as the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

MARKS: Yes.

[35]

FUCHS: Then, there was a 35th Division Association too, wasn't there?

MARKS: Yes. They still have the 35th Division Association.

FUCHS: Was that a separate thing though?

MARKS: Yes. That was the Veterans of Foreign Wars. 35th Division Post V. F. W.

FUCHS: What American Legion post did you go to?

MARKS: Well, in those days, I belonged to the Fitzsimmons Post. Then I joined the Sanford-Brown Post American Legion.

FUCHS: Was Mr. Truman a member of either of those posts? Do you recall seeing him at the American Legion hall or at meetings? Of course, he later -- maybe at that time, or very soon after it was organized, became associated with the Tirey Ford Post in Independence, but I have heard that he also belonged in Kansas City.

MARKS: I don't remember that.

FUCHS: Well, I just wondered about that.

MARKS: Tirey Ford was a member of my battery. He was killed in action. Corporal Kyle was killed also.

[36]

FUCHS: Who was that?

MARKS: Corporal Kyle.

FUCHS: Was he an Independence lad?

MARKS: No, he was a Kansas City boy, just a young kid. He was working on the gun. We had two direct hits on the gun, I better not talk about that.

FUCHS: Why not? It's interesting.

MARKS: This is Harry's...

FUCHS: Well, we don't want to keep too much to him. I know Mr. Truman belonged to the Tirey J. Ford Post and became quite active and in 1921, the National Convention of the American Legion was held here, when they dedicated the Liberty Memorial.

MARKS: Yes, I was with him downtown one of the nights, I remember, at the hotel. We were in the lobby with several others. Some fellow rushed in with a bag and said, "Would you take care of that bag?" And he went upstairs to register. We looked in the bag and found something we needed, so we closed it up again. That was many years ago.

FUCHS: Those were prohibition days. I've seen some evidence

[37]

in some records that were given us, an invitation to the meeting on St. Patrick's Day of Battery D and they spoke of bringing their liquor and so forth, only in so many clever words.

MARKS: Everytime the battery meets on St. Patrick's Day, they invite me -- I'm always invited.

FUCHS: You go to the Battery D meetings?

MARKS: D meetings, yes.

FUCHS: How long has that been since...?

MARKS: Oh, quite a number of years now -- once a year Battery D has a dinner.

FUCHS: Do you recall being around the store when the Legion was meeting in Kansas City in 1921 -- any of the activities that went on?

MARKS: No, I don't think so. I don't remember anything unusual there -- of course there were a lot of people in the store, but there's nothing that I remember.

FUCHS: Mr. Truman fell on hard times then, with Eddie Jacobson, in the depression that came along in the Harding Administration. Do you recall talking to him about his

[38]

difficulties in the store?

MARKS: No, we didn't discuss that too much, I don't think. We all were having a hard time those days. Coming back from the war you know, and opening up business and trying to get acquainted with people so we'd get some business. It was quite a chore in those days. Rents were high and starting anew -- it was pretty tough.

FUCHS: How did the depression affect you? Were you able to continue?

MARKS: Well, there were some skimpy days there, I'll tell you. Yes, it was pretty tough.

FUCHS: I imagine your overhead was a little less than his would have been, though.

MARKS: Oh yes. I was on 10th and McGee. There was a jewelry store on the corner and I was down from McGee. I was there a number of years. I had some very good customers. Karl Klemm, the commanding officer of our regiment was well-acquainted in Kansas City and he knew a lot of businessmen, and they'd come into my store and buy clothes.

FUCHS: Did you just do tailor-made clothes?

[39]

MARKS: Yes, that's all.

FUCHS: You didn't sell other items?

MARKS: No.

FUCHS: Did you have anyone helping you at the time?

MARKS: Yes, I had tailors, two tailors in the back room. Well, I didn't sew. I took care of the business, you see. I know it was tough getting started. Of course, Karl Klemm, the commanding officer of our regiment, when he came home, bought all his clothes from me and he introduced me to Mr. Pitts, a book-binder.

FUCHS: I don't know who he was.

MARKS: Oh, very influential. He would send customers to me and they bought all their clothes, silk-lined clothes I used to make for them. Karl was very good to me. He would send customers to me. He knew a lot of people in Kansas City.

FUCHS: Was he the regimental commander that you had, or was Smith?

MARKS: Smith came after.

FUCHS: Klemm served with you overseas, though.

[40]

MARKS: Yes, he did.

FUCHS: I believe Klemm came back early and then another officer took over.

MARKS: Yes, a colonel.

FUCHS: I've forgotten his first name, but I believe it was Smith.

MARKS: Emery T. Smith. He gave me a nice recommendation.

FUCHS: He did. Well, that would be interesting.

MARKS: I have that someplace. He said:

I consider this officer to be one of the best battery
commanders I have ever known. He is energetic, most
reliable, and can be depended upon to carry out in-
structions to the letter.

Emery T. Smith
Commanding Officer

FUCHS: I see. What about Karl Klemm?

MARKS: He killed himself. Emery T. Smith, I think he killed himself, yes.

FUCHS: Karl Klemm is supposed to have committed suicide. I've seen the record...

[41]

MARKS: Smith did as well.

FUCHS: What is the story on Klemm? There seems to be some indication that he was not the officer that a lot of them would have like to have had him be.

MARKS: Well, let me put it this way. Karl Klemm was a brilliant officer, fearless, very strict; and it takes that kind of officer in time of war. And some of the youngsters, of course, didn't like him because he was too strict, you see. He was a brilliant officer. You could depend on him when you were at the front.

FUCHS: Do you think Captain Truman got along with him well?

MARKS: Oh, yes, sure. Harry got along fine with him. Klemm was a West Pointer.

FUCHS: What do you think brought him to the point of suicide?

MARKS: Well, of course, he was Heim's* son-in-law and they didn't get along.

FUCHS: He was who's son-in-law?

MARKS: Heim, the brewer's son-in-law.

*Joseph Heim of the Ferd Heim Brewing Co.

[42]

FUCHS: Heim?

MARKS: Heim, the brewer, wasn't he.

FUCHS: Oh, I'm not familiar with that.

MARKS: Yes, his son-in-law, I think, if I remember right. His wife was, of course, the daughter and they were very wealthy. I don't know what happened. He was high-strung after the war and it was a terrible shock.

FUCHS: Well, I was just wondering if it was something that was a result of the war, that he had seen too much or had shell-shock or...?

MARKS: No one knows. We woke up one Sunday morning and saw the paper where he had shot himself.

FUCHS: Then in 1922, as you know, Mr. Truman closed the store and eventually, around 1925, Eddie Jacobson went into bankruptcy but Mr. Truman didn't. Did you ever have any conversation with him about that in those days?

MARKS: No, nothing important. It was one of those things we didn't like to discuss too much. We knew it had happened. None of us had a good time coming in after we got home. We just struggled along to get back into the business world.

[43]

It's pretty tough when you've been away so long and getting new clientele. That's the way I found it. In fact, I closed business when I was offered a job with the Government.

FUCHS: Well, that was not until the 'thirties, was it?

MARKS: Yes, that was 1938.

FUCHS: Do you remember Mr. Truman when he first announced in 1922 that he was going to run for judge from the Eastern District on the County Court?

MARKS: Yes, I remember the time.

FUCHS: Do you have any recollection of any personal conversations about that or feelings about it -- that he should or he shouldn't venture into politics?

MARKS: No, I think he enjoyed doing it. At that time, he wanted to do something like that.

FUCHS: Do you remember feeling glad that he was doing that sort of thing -- did you think he was getting into a niche where he would fit?

MARKS: Yes, I think he wanted to get into that stuff. He liked politics. He liked to get around and meet people. He always

[44]

was with people -- mixing with them, you see.

FUCHS: Did he used to talk politics, that you remember, when he was in the service?

MARKS: No, we didn't have much time for talking politics, because we were studying every night; and when we weren't studying, of course, we were up at the front, and when you're up at the front, you're not thinking of politics, you're thinking of whether you're going to get hit or whether you're going to hit him.

FUCHS: Yes, that's right. I know what you mean.

MARKS: Of course, as the time drew close to the war ending, we began to think what we were going to do when we got home. We discussed that many a time. Of course, I knew what I'd have to do for a start would be to get back in business and pick up some old customers and make some new ones. It was pretty tough in those days.

FUCHS: While we're talking about the end of the war, did you happen to go anyplace with Mr. Truman in France after the war? Did you go on leave with him to Paris or to any other cities?

[45]

MARKS: No, I went to Paris, but I was ordered up there. I was ordered to report to General Reese in the Rue de Anoir. I went up to Paris -- didn't know what had happened -- I thought it was something I had done wrong. I got to Paris and met the general the next morning and he said, "We want you to stay in Paris and help us to organize schools for the G. I.'s that are over here."

And I told him that I had quit my business twice -- closed up my business twice to go to serve my country, and that I wanted to go home as soon as possible and open up again to get established again.

And he said, "Well, I'm sorry, Captain., but I think you'll have to stay here."

So I went to the hotel and met a lieutenant with the Navy, and we visited around together and visited a few famous bars and things like that and ate together. Finally I didn't hear anything from the general, so I just had my return ticket and I went back to the regiment and I've never heard anything from that day to this. I think I've got the message somewhere, if I could ever find it.

Report to General Reese on the Rue de Anoir for instructions.

FUCHS: That's an interesting story. It seems rather haphazard,

[46]

and maybe more haphazard than things that went on in the 2nd World War, but not completely. There were probably similar incidents there.

MARKS: Yes, I used to meet the lieutenant of the Navy and we'd fill in the day somehow.

FUCHS: Well then, in 1924, you probably remember, Mr. Truman was defeated by Judge Rummel -- by Henry Rummel, who was elected as Eastern District judge. Do you recall those interim years in '25 and '26 when Mr. Truman worked for an automobile club? Do you recall anything about that?

MARKS: Yes. I didn't see him so often then. He was with the Automobile Club of Missouri, wasn't he?

FUCHS: The Automobile Club of Kansas City.

MARKS: Of Kansas City, that's it. I didn't see much of him at that time. I remember the incident -- what happened, and then he took this job for a while. But, Harry would never stay idle. If one thing did not work out -- he'd get into something else right away. He never was idle, always operating.

FUCHS: In 1926, of course, he came back and ran for presiding judge. He had some aspirations to become county collector

[47]

but the job had been promised by Mr. Pendergast to another friend of his, and so he ran for presiding judge. Do you recall campaigning for him or any part of that campaign?

MARKS: Well, we used to get around a lot and talk this thing over. He made a darn good presiding judge.

FUCHS: Do you have any memories of his activities, that stand out, at that time -- any conversations that you had or any incidents?

MARKS: No, I wouldn't remember. He got around, and I was in business and, of course, didn't see him too often.

FUCHS: You supported him by way of talking to your friends -- asking them if they would vote for Mr. Truman? You never were real active in politics, though?

MARKS: No, never. I always voted but never cared about going into politics. I was on the quieter side.

FUCHS: Then, of course, he was re-elected in 1930 as presiding judge. The main thing in his first term was the road program. Do you have thoughts about that?

MARKS: No, about that time though, he had a lot of people for his program, because during his regime he built a lot of good roads in Missouri. He knew what we needed at that time.

[48]

FUCHS: When he came out in 1934 as a candidate for the United States Senate, was that surprising to you or did you think it was a natural continuation...?

MARKS: No, because I knew that Harry was always wanting to go ahead, to do something. He liked politics and that was a very fine place for him to be.

FUCHS: Did you have any thoughts about his potential -- his qualifications for that high a job?

MARKS: Well, I knew it would be difficult for him and he'd have to do a lot of campaigning, and that's what he likes and I think that 's why he won. If it had been me, I would have been dejected when the people were talking about me in the paper, and I wouldn't have run.

FUCHS: He had the hide to take it, you think?

MARKS: He certainly did. He loved politics and he strived for something and never let loose until he got there, I think no matter what job he held he put all he had into it; he enjoyed it and did the best that he knew how, to serve the county.

FUCHS: Do you have any recollection of talking to the regimental members about his candidacy? In other words, were they for

[49]

him to a man, do you think?

MARKS: Well, it would be hard to say, but if someone didn't like him, they probably wouldn't say anything.

FUCHS: You don't recall any arguments, in other words?

MARKS: Oh no, I think Harry treated them -- he was a Mason and most of the boys were Catholics and they just loved him and he loved them; and that's the way it should be, that's democracy for you. They'd do anything for Harry Truman.

FUCHS: The 1940 candidacy, of course, was after Mr. Pendergast had been sent to jail and they thought maybe Mr. Truman couldn't be re-elected. Do you recall anything in connection with that? Did you fear...?

MARKS: No, I didn't hear too much about it. Of course, there was something in the papers every once in a while, but knowing Harry as I do, there's no going back. He'd go ahead and face it -- smile and wipe it off.

FUCHS: He's always been one to go right ahead and not think too much about the past. Is that what you mean?

MARKS: That's right. When his objective was to be the presiding judge of the court, that was what he was out

[50]

for, and he wouldn't give up at all. He'd just keep fighting. There was a lot of opposition, but that didn't bother him. With me now, I won't tell you what I'd say to them, I'd let go.

FUCHS: In the years that he served in the Senate, '35 to '40 and then his second term, '41 to '44, which of course, was cut short because he became vice-president, do you recall going to Washington and seeing him at any time?

MARKS: Yes, of course, I traveled to Washington once in a while on the job I had.

FUCHS: Which you got in 1938, you said before.

MARKS: '38 yes. Of course, in '38 I'd go once a year to Washington, but later on, I became advanced, you know -- I don't want to talk about it too much.

FUCHS: Well, we would like to have your story, because that's related to Mr. Truman. Now, you say he helped you get an appointment in the U. S. Department of Labor?

MARKS: Well, there was a vacancy in the Department of Labor for a veteran's representative from Missouri. The title was Veterans Representative for Missouri.

[51]

FUCHS: Where was the office? -- the duty station?

MARKS: In Jefferson City. So I closed my business, because truthfully, I may say, that I was born a tailor because the folks were, but there was a lot of other things I would have liked to have been but didn't have the opportunity in the early days. My father insisted on my being a tailor, you see. But, I think if I'd started out earlier, I'm sure I never would have been a tailor, although I made a good living at it, but there was other things I'd like better I think -- traveling and going on missions or something like that.

FUCHS: Had you indicated to Mr. Truman that you would like to get into some other line of work and then he...?

MARKS: Well yes, there was a vacancy for representative from Missouri and he came to me and said, "There's a job open, Ted, at the Veterans Employment Service in Washington, Department of Labor, and how would you like to take it?"

"Yeah, I think I'd like it. I don't know much about it; I don't know what it's all about." So, I took the job and I went to Washington -- they have a conference there once a year and I represented Missouri. See you were a Federal man and the local office in Missouri were state men. We'd

[52]

go into these offices and check with them on the percentage of veterans getting jobs against the non-veteran.

FUCHS: Well now, this was 1938? Were these veterans of World War I?

MARKS: Well, that was for veterans from World War I, yes. There wasn't any II those days.

FUCHS: I didn't realize they'd set up such an organization.

MARKS: It was a new organization. It hadn't been organized very long before I went into it -- '38. I served in there for a number of years and then I became a staff field representative.

FUCHS: About what year was that?

MARKS: Let's see, '38 to '44...then I became -- well, it's a story that's something different. I was offered the job in Washington -- the Department of Labor. I became Associate Chief of the Veterans Employment Service in Washington.

FUCHS: What about the War Manpower Commission, didn't you hold a job for them? Was that the Department of Labor?

[53]

MARKS: The War Manpower Commission was with the employment service, you see -- keeping things on an even keel there at the time. I didn't have much to do with them. I was the veterans representative and we had a veterans organization within the Department of Labor in Washington. We took orders from there and no one could give you the orders in Missouri.

FUCHS: Well now, you first were located around 1938 in Jefferson City and then around 19... what year did you go to Washington?

MARKS: That was later on -- the fifties.

FUCHS: Was that around 1947 when you had the job as staff field representative?

MARKS: Staff field representative -- yes. I was a staff field representative and would make trips to Washington; we would have conferences there, you see.

FUCHS: Oh, but you weren't stationed in Washington?

MARKS: No. As a staff field representative, you have so many states to take care of. There was six staff field representatives and each one would have several states. I had Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and so forth.

[54]

FUCHS: But you lived in Washington at that time?

MARKS: No, I lived in Jefferson City. That was my headquarters. Then there was a vacancy in Washington. My chief in Washington decided to quit. So, the Secretary of Labor called me and said, "Ted, when you come up here, you'll have a free hand. You'll be the chief of the Veterans Employment Service here in Washington -- in control of all the other states in the country." I've got letters, sometime I can show you -- beautiful letters from the fellows.

And I said, "May I say something, Mr. Secretary?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "The last damn place I want to be is in Washington!"

"You mean you don't want to come up here?"

And I said, "No, sir."

I was made associate chief of the Veterans Employment Service and I could travel anywhere in the country that I deemed it necessary.

FUCHS: This was a different job than the staff field representative?

MARKS: Yes, I was a staff field representative along with

[55]

it, you see.

FUCHS: But you never had to go and live in Washington?

MARKS: No, when my chief left, as I told you, he got all heated up and he decided he'd quit, and that's the time the Secretary of Labor called me and said, "Ted, when you come up here, you'll have a free hand. You know how to run it." And I told him I didn't want to be in Washington, but I was promoted to associate chief.

FUCHS: So you didn't become the head of the Veterans Service.

MARKS: But I was selected on a panel to go to the Pacific in '45.

FUCHS: What was your duty then?

MARKS: Well, after the way they decided to send a panel to the Pacific. There was thousands of these kids sitting on these islands, nothing to do -- didn't know what was going on in the United States; so the Government decided to send a panel to the Pacific consisting of the National Association of Manufacturers; CIO; AF of L; Department of Commerce; Department of Labor, which I represented; and the Veterans Administration. My friend and I owned a plane in the early days and I'd been in a wreck. The Secretary of Labor called me into Washington to tell me, and I

[56]

said, "How are we going? Are we going by boat?"

He said, "Boat, hell, you're going to fly."

I said, "Not me."

He said, "You don't mean to go!"

So, he talked me into going as the representative of the Department of Labor. We went to Honolulu, Johnston Island, Kwajalein, Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Manila, Okinawa, Yokohama, Tokyo and Shanghai. We met all the allied commanders. They knew we were coming, and they were glad this panel was coming because these kids didn't know what was going on in the United States. Each one would meet with the G. I.'s on these installations, in the afternoon or morning, whichever was arranged, and each one would speak his piece as to what he was set up to do. My job was to tell them what would happen when they got home -- what would take place when they got home; that there were employment offices in every state in the Union and the number of employment offices depended on the size of the state and the population. There was a Veterans Employment Service within the employment service. "When you get home, you go to the employment office, and you ask for the veteran's representative because you're entitled to see him, and he's set up there especially to find a job for you." That was just a rough idea of what I was doing. You can

[57]

see a picture of me.* I was standing up there with a mike in G. I. clothes, talking. We ranked as colonels; we didn't have any uniform, though. We went to, as I say, all these islands in the Pacific, and I attended the trial of Yamashita in the Philippines and got his signature. Then we went on to Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Manila, Okinawa, Yokohama, Tokyo, and Shanghai. We got to Tokyo and the colonel there allowed me to see Tojo with the slit up his belly. I have his signature on a "short snorter." He wrote it out -- painted it with a brush.

FUCHS: That's very interesting. Had he tried to kill himself or something?

MARKS: Oh yes. He slit his side.

FUCHS: He lived then and was hanged.

MARKS: Yes, he was hanged -- later.

FUCHS: Your experiences in the Pacific were certainly interesting, meeting some of those Japanese big shots.

*Mr. Marks here referred to a picture in one of his photograph albums.

[58]

MARKS: Yes. I thought there was a picture here.* This was the meeting in the Department of Labor when I was up there. I'm back here, you see. This is the Secretary of Labor; there's Harry Truman. This is a special occasion and the Secretary of Labor is with him.

FUCHS: This is Tobin.

MARKS: There's a lot of notables there -- staff members. When Harry Truman went up there, he knew that I was in town and I went to the White House. Of course, I had my White House pass. I rode with him to the Department of Labor building.

FUCHS: Was this when they were having a meeting on the physically handicapped?

MARKS: Yes, the physically handicapped program.

FUCHS: Do you recall any conversation on that occasion with some of these men such as Snyder, Tobin...?

MARKS: Well, they didn't participate too much. The Secretary of Labor would. These other gentlemen were from different agencies, you see. They'd be introduced and say a few words about the different organizations they belonged to. The whole thing was the Secretary's report to the different organizations in the country.

*Mr. Marks here again referred to one of his photograph albums.

[59]

FUCHS: Did you have any impressions of Secretary Snyder or Secretary Tobin at that time, that might be of interest?

MARKS: Tobin was a very fine gentleman. Your never saw him get excited -- soft-spoken -- very nice fellow.

FUCHS: Have you known Secretary Snyder down through the years since he was in the reserves?

MARKS: Yes, in the reserves. We were all together at Fort Riley. We used to go to camp together.

FUCHS: Was he a capable officer?

MARKS: Oh yes, John was very capable, very smart. I think he was a major when I knew him first -- Harry Truman, John Snyder and Harry Vaughan would get together when he was in town.

FUCHS: You mentioned Harry Vaughan? How long have you been acquainted with him?

MARKS: He was in our regiment, wasn't he?

FUCHS: I believe he served in the 130th.

MARKS: I don't remember I think it was through the President that I met him first.

FUCHS: You don't recall him at Camp Riley?

MARKS: Yes, for a while, but then he left town and want back

[60]

East, as you know. Yes, we used to be together in the early days, you know.

FUCHS: Were all those summer camps at Fort Riley?

MARKS: Oh yes. Mostly there. One year we went up to Minnesota you see, but most of them were at Fort Riley -- that's the main camp there.

FUCHS: After Mr. Truman was nominated for the vice-presidency, you, of course, were still working for the Government in this job he had gotten you while he was senator. Do you recall anything about the vice-presidential campaign, or any conversation that you might have had with him? Or any feelings you might have had about him going into such a tremendous thing?

MARKS: Well, I was happy for him. I knew that was what he liked. He always liked politics and I think when a man goes into politics, he ought to attain the highest position he can. That's the idea. I saw Harry when he was Vice-President -- I saw him in Washington occasionally, mostly when he was senator. I'd go there and we'd have dinner together sometimes. On one occasion, I remember, his wife was with him and we had dinner. When he was alone, we'd go out to dinner occasionally.

[61]

FUCHS: When Roosevelt died in April, 1945, and Mr. Truman became President, I believe you went back to Washington very shortly after that on a trip and visited with him. Do you recall anything in connection with that?

MARKS: That's when he went to the White House. Well, I remember the first time I went up to Washington, of course. I called on the Department of Labor and took care of my work there, and then I was staying at the hotel and I tried to get the President at the White House on the phone. My gosh, I couldn't get in anyhow. I tried all kinds of ways. I couldn't get near the White House. They'd answer, but it would be some fellow on the phone and that's all. You couldn't get any further information. So, I was talking around there, and told someone, "That's a hell of a note, I'm a personal friend of the President and I stood up for him, and I couldn't..." And there happened to be a reporter in the crowd and he heard that story. So that started things going and the first thing I knew...

FUCHS: Was this at the hotel, where you were talking?

MARKS: Yes, the hotel. The first thing I knew there was a car for me and took me right to the White House. The first thing Harry said, "Ted you go upstairs and you'll get your pass and you'll be able to get in here anytime you're in

[62]

town." So that's how I got my pass. You've seen my pass.

FUCHS: How did the reporter get the story into the White House?

MARKS: I was talking to somebody and you know they're always wandering around to see if they can hear something -- these reporters -- and someone told them, "Why, there's a fellow here who stood up for the President, and by gosh, he can't get in the White House," -- something like that -- I don't know what they said exactly. .Anyhow, first thing I knew there was a chauffeur came into the hotel and said, "Ted Marks." I said, "Yes." And he took me to the White House.

FUCHS: Was this the same day or did the story get into the newspaper. In other words, did the reporter call the White House or how do you think the White House got wind of it?

MARKS: It must have been in the paper.

FUCHS: Then it was the following day?

MARKS: The following day, yes, because it was the following day that this car came for me at the hotel.

FUCHS: What hotel were you staying at, do you recall?

MARKS: I was staying at the Statler then.

[63]

FUCHS: So, you got in royally?

MARKS: Yes. I went upstairs and they fingerprinted me and I have my pass to this day. I had no difficulty after that. The President and I would swim in the pool and take a shower and at other times, he'd want a little exercise, and we'd go out on the White House grounds and play horseshoes or something like that.

FUCHS: In 1946, in March, when Winston Churchill came over here to speak at Westminster College at Fulton, you were on that trip, is that not right?

MARKS: Harry Truman wrote me a letter, a note or something, and told me that Churchill was coming in. He told me he was going to be on the train to St. Louis and then from there to Fulton -- Westminster College. So I went to St. Louis and, of course, I had my White House pass and I could get on the platform and go right to the train. And I went to the pullman on the last car there Harry. He was up; he always gets up early. He said, "The Limey isn't up yet." So, when he got up, Harry introduced me to Churchill, and so when he introduced me to Churchill, I saluted English-style, and said, "Number 9453, Corporal Theodore Marks, 2nd Battalion,

[64]

Grenadier Guards, sir."

And he said, "And you were in the Grenadier Guards."

And I said, "Yes, sir. Lord Gordon Gilmoor and the Honorable Gathorne Hardy and other officers were our young officers in those days."

Of course, I rode in the same carriage with him to Westminster College rode the train, had breakfast with Churchill on the train, then rode to Westminster College with him and until we got back to Jefferson City.

FUCHS: That must have been interesting.

MARKS: Very interesting.

FUCHS: Do you recall any more of your conversation with Mr. Churchill?

MARKS: Well, I didn't see too much of him after that, you know, he didn't stay very long after that.

[65]

The second interview with Ted Marks at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, November 27, 1962. By J. R. Fuchs.

FUCHS: The last time I talked with you, Mr. Marks, we were discussing your visit to Fulton, Missouri, when Mr. Truman and Mr. Churchill were there for Mr. Churchill's talk, in which he spoke of the Iron Curtain and which has since become known as his "Iron Curtain Speech." You told about meeting Mr. Churchill on the train, but before you had mentioned to me about his coming out and requesting a thermometer. I wonder if you would mind repeating that?

MARKS: Yes, of course, he had a part of his force who were waiting for him and he came in patting his chest and looking up and said, "Where's a thermometer? What's the temperature here?"

Well, of course, the officials were hunting all over for the thermometer and couldn't find one. So that was the story. Someone suggested the temperature, they didn't know where the thermometer was. They couldn't find it.

FUCHS: There wasn't one on the train. I suppose it's customary in England to have one on the train?

[66]

MARKS: I never saw a thermometer on a train in England.

FUCHS: Do you remember anything else that occurred on that trip that we might be interested in?

I believe you took a cruise with Mr. Truman once or twice on his yacht?

MARKS: Yes.

FUCHS: The Williamsburg?

MARKS: Yes, we had a very nice trip. I happened to be in Washington at one time, and I always went in to see Mr. Truman; and on this occasion, he wanted to know whether I had had a vacation. I told him, "No."

He said, "Are you going to take a vacation?"

I said, "Maybe, sometime this summer."

He said, "Why don't you go with us?"

I said, "Where are you going, Mr. President?"

"Oh, we're going on a little cruise somewhere."

I said, "I'd be delighted to go with you, Mr. President. I'd consider it a great honor."

He said, "Hurry on home and get your clothes."

Of course, I came back to Washington and we got on the Williamsburg, a beautiful yacht. Yes, we went to the coast and went down to the docks and there was a large

[67]

number of people there waiting for the President to arrive. We got on the Williamsburg and he was discussing things with different people and different reporters and things like that. We had dinner that evening, upon arrival. There was a lot of boys in white on the boat to take care of our needs.

FUCHS: I believe you did some fishing while you were on that trip.

MARKS: Yes, we sailed and went through the Delaware Canal out to the open sea and we stayed there for a few hours and some friends of the President came and took him to a friend's house.

FUCHS: Where was this now?

MARKS: That was at...

FUCHS: Was it before you went through the canal?

MARKS: Oh yes, sure -- before we went through the canal.

FUCHS: You said you went through the Delaware Canal. The boat was in Washington, on the Potomac?

MARKS: Oh yes, that's right.

[68]

FUCHS: And you sailed down the Potomac to Chesapeake Bay?

MARKS: Yes, to Chesapeake Bay and out to the open sea. It was getting late in the evening and we retired very early that evening.

FUCHS: Who else went with you on this cruise?

MARKS: Well, there was Harry Vaughan, of course, who was his Military Aide; Clark Clifford; John Snyder and... The next morning we had breakfast together. There was all kinds of games, volleyball and things like that we set up on the deck. We had sides, so many on one side and so many on the other. The President would watch and umpire once in a while. I think he had favorites. It was a marvelous trip. The Weiss followed us, a ship about the size of the Williamsburg.

FUCHS: The Weiss?

MARKS: They had a number of young fellows in white, on the Weiss, and we had some of them on our boat to do the chores. We played volleyball, took sides and played volleyball. We played cards during the evening.

FUCHS: Poker?

[69]

MARKS: Poker.

FUCHS: Is Mr. Truman a pretty good poker player?

MARKS: Well, he always plays a close hand, I'll say that. You can tell when he's winning, because there's a kind of smile on his face.

FUCHS: Is that right?

MARKS: He likes poker.

FUCHS: Do you like poker?

MARKS: I never played poker very much, but I think the President liked it because it took his mind off other things more than anything else. He enjoyed a game of poker and I think he does still, to this day, with his friends.

FUCHS: What happened on that fishing trip?

MARKS: Well, of course, they selected the party to be on one side, and the President would have several on his side. I was on Clark Clifford's side of it. We went fishing in these small boats and caught fish.

FUCHS: You were telling me about one morning you were going and you were late or something and you ended up going in your good suit -- good pants?

[70]

MARKS: We went fishing one morning, and I was late in getting up. Of course, Harry Vaughan, you know him, he came in and he said, "Limey, hurry up, you're keeping the President waiting." So, I pulled on the first pair of pants -- it was dark and I pulled the first pair of pants on I could find. When I got out to sea, I found out that I had a pair of silk, pongee pants on. Of, course, you know what the gang thought of me. There was nothing I could do about it at that time, and I didn't care. We fished, and I was on Clark Clifford's team. He caught a large rockfish. After we had fished for several hours, it was decided to return to the shore. We weighed the fish -- took pictures of it, and before they got Clark Clifford's rockfish, this big rockfish, he had a big mouth and we filled it full of lead, so they weighed him with the lead. We won. We thought we'd won, but the scales tipped and all the lead fell out on the deck. And of course, you know what they thought of us then. They couldn't trust us anymore after that.

FUCHS: Did Mr. Truman seem to like to fish?

MARKS: Yes, he fished quite often. I think it did something to him, by fishing and seeing the boat going past, you know. You always see something in the ocean then, you

[71]

see. He was a very good fisherman.

FUCHS: Oh, is that right?

MARKS: Yes, he caught several fish.

FUCHS: What did they tell you about your snoring on that boat?

MARKS: Well, that was something. At breakfast one morning Harry Vaughan put his hand up at the breakfast table to get the President's attention, and he said, "Mr. President, I have a complaint to make about Ted Marks."

He said, "What is it?" He looked up with his glasses, smiling; he knew there was something coming. After telling him about the snoring, the President said, "Well, I can fix that. Ted, you come upstairs, and occupy that big room next to mine."

FUCHS: I thought they sort of had a trial there, or do I have that confused with something else. Didn't they have a mock trial?

MARKS: Yes, I'd forgotten that. Yes, of course, they could hear me snoring, so they complained to the President, that they couldn't sleep on account of Ted Marks snoring.

[72]

So, the President said, "Ted, you come upstairs." There's two large rooms there, and I occupied one and the President occupied the other and nobody could hear me snoring. I was contented then.

FUCHS: What about when you went abroad, I believe, in 1952, was it? Well, you took several trips abroad, didn't you? When was the first one?

MARKS: Which one are you speaking of?

FUCHS: Well, I wanted to know about your various trips and anything that happened on them. Once you went over on the Queen Mary, I believe, and another time, you went abroad, I thought, but I'm not certain just what the dates were. I thought you went once in '50 and once in '52. Where did you go in 1950?

MARKS: I went to England, France, Italy and Belgium for the Government.

FUCHS: Was that in connection with the Veterans...

MARKS: The Veterans Employment Service, and to ascertain how they handled their veterans in those countries. I made reports to the President.

[73]

FUCHS: Was that the trip on which you met Mr. Vishinsky or saw Mr. Vishinsky?

MARKS: No, that was a previous trip I mentioned, I was on, up north. I was met by the representative from the British Government there, Mr. Kelley, the attaché at the embassy. He met me at the airport on arriving. He said, "Let's go upstairs and watch Vishinsky coming in.

After I got home, I received a copy of the French paper. One side of it was in English, and the other side in French. It stated that Ted Marks, on a mission for the President, arrived at the airport and saw Vishinsky, and several other things. When it was translated to me, I was very much embarrassed, because I was on the second floor of the airport watching him with the representative of the embassy. That's how they do those things. It said, "Ted Marks, A Friend of the President, Meets Vishinsky." That was the headlines.

FUCHS: What did you tell Mr. Truman when you got back?

MARKS: Well, I read it to him, and he says, "What!"

I said, "Let me tell you the story, Mr. President." And I told him what had happened. As I say, I was upstairs, watching from the window, in the company of a

[74]

member of the embassy.

FUCHS: You told him you saw Vishinsky, and he thought you saw him face to face.

MARKS: Yes. I told him I saw Vishinsky. His hands went up and he said, "What!"

FUCHS: At the end of Mr. Truman's term, you were about ready to retire from the Government, is that right? Didn't Mr. Truman issue an executive order permitting you to stay on a while?

MARKS: Yes, I did stay on a short while after that.

FUCHS: What about contacts with Mr. Truman as a Mason? You never joined his lodge here or you didn't belong to the same lodge?

MARKS: No, no. He belongs in Kansas City and I belonged in Seattle when I was a young fellow and traveled. I was working for a firm -- two brothers. I heard them discussing something and I asked them what they were talking about. They said it was Masonry, and I said I'd like to join. So they took my application and I joined Seattle Lodge 164, and am still a member of Seattle Lodge. I

[75]

will be a fifty year member the last part of this year.

FUCHS: You mean you kept your membership back there? Where did you attend here then, or didn't you? I wondered, even though you kept your membership in a Seattle Lodge, if you didn't attend some lodge here to participate actively?

MARKS: Yes, I used to go to the Lodges. I joined the York Rite here, and became Past High Priest of the Kansas City chapter Royal Arch Masons, and was a captain of the drill team in the Commandry. Then I took the Shrine, so I went both ways, Scottish Rite and the York Rite.

FUCHS: You didn't go to the same lodge that Mr. Truman attended though?

MARKS: No; there were numerous lodges around. You generally go to your own lodge. Oh, you go, on invitation, to other lodges -- visit other lodges, but of course, with other commitments, you don't have too much time to attend them all.

FUCHS: Did he ever bestow any of your honors on you, as he has done with others, degrees?

[76]

MARKS: No.

FUCHS: I believe you went with Mr. Truman, after he was out of office, to Westminister College in Fulton for a John Finley Green lecture?

MARKS: When Churchill was there?

FUCHS: No, that was earlier in '46. This is one, I believe, later where you said you carried his speech for him.

MARKS: Yes, I went with Mr. Truman.

FUCHS: I believe Caskie Collett was along on that trip.

MARKS: Yes, Caskie Collett had the speech and he handed it to me and told me to take care of it. And, of course, I never let loose of it all the time on the train. If we went to a restaurant to eat or anything else, my hand was on that speech. It caused me to be a little nervous because I knew the President was depending on the speech.

FUCHS: So you finally delivered the speech to Mr. President?

MARKS: Yes.

FUCHS: Do you have any other incidents that stand out in your memory, of your relationship with Mr. Truman, or some overall impressions of him? He came to your home one

[77]

time, I believe.

MARKS: Yes, he wrote me a letter while he was in Washington, and said he would like to visit me in my home, and spend an afternoon. So I arranged to get some of his friends, and I think there were eight of them.

FUCHS: Was this in 1951?

MARKS: '51, yes. I .don't want to make a mistake. You said there was a clipping here.

FUCHS: I believe, in that one letter, there was a clipping about his trip to your home. You can tell me if you recall, or if you have it there, just who attended.

MARKS: We had several of his friends, personal friends. It was a get-together for members of Harry Truman's artillery gang. Among the visitors were John Miles, he was in the First War with us; the Reverend Curtis Tiernan, our chaplain during the war; Edgar Hinde was in one of the batteries during the war; Alex Sachs was the postmaster; Keith Dancy commanded "A" battery in the war; Harry C. Jobes was in charge of all equipment in our regiment; Eddie Meisburger was in Harry Truman's battery; and Fischel, Mr. Fischel and James Dorn were the rest of them.

[78]

FUCHS: Who was Fischel?

MARKS: He was a friend of mine who knew the President very well. Hinde and Sachs, of course, were postmasters, and the others were government officials -- most of them. The President arrived about three o'clock, shortly after three o'clock. He was accompanied by a group of Secret Service men. At seven o'clock, the President left for home. I might say that I was traveling for the Government at that time and was down in Arkansas, when I received a message from Kansas City. Some fellow said, "What time are you going to be in Kansas City?"

I said, "Who is this?"

He said, "We can't tell you. We'd like to see you in Kansas City."

I began to get hot under the collar and said "What have I done?"

He said, "No, we want to speak to you about an important thing."

When I arrived in Kansas City, the next morning, I saw two fellows walking up and down in front of my place.

FUCHS: Was this your home in Lee's Summit?

MARKS: In Lee's Summit. Of course, there's not many houses

[79]

around there, so they were walking up and down the lane. And they said, "Are you Mr. Marks?"

I said, "Yes."

"We'd like to speak to you."

I said, "Who are you?"

"Well, we're Secret Service men."

I said, "Come on in."

They said, "The President would like to visit you next weekend."

Well, I was overcome with joy. I said, "I'd be very glad to see the President again.

So, I selected these friends of his, and we had music -- all the records I thought he liked -- and there was a table set out -- help yourself. We had a wonderful afternoon, and the President, I'm sure, he didn't think anything about the job as President or anything else. No one knew, in Lee's Summit, that the President was in town. It said, in the papers, it said, "Last Saturday afternoon, the papers reported President Truman spent a quiet four hours with friends, but they did not say where. The man was practically in Lee's Summit during that period. The President was a guest of Mr. Ted Marks, at Mr. Ted Marks home, which is located about two rock throws northwest of the city water works. It was a get-together for members of

[80]

Harry's old artillery gang. Truman arrived shortly after three o'clock accompanied only by a group of Secret Service men, and the others were waiting to give him a welcome. A buffet dinner wound up the affair, and along about seven p.m., the President headed back to his home in Independence.*

FUCHS: That was a nice time. You gave him a good chance to relax. You say he wrote you a letter after he returned to Washington. That would be interesting. You might just read that into the record.

MARKS: Yes. This was from the White House, Washington:

September 12, 1951

Dear Ted:

I don't know when I've had such a
pleasant afternoon as the one I spent
with you last Saturday. Every man there
is one of whom I am very fond. The
Chopin and Margaret's records were per-
fect. You have a beautiful place; I
wish I had one like it and could use
it as you do. Sometime or other, I
hope you'll repeat the performance.
The buffet supper was perfect. Thanks
Ted for one of my few happy days.

Sincerely,

Harry

*Mr. Marks read this from the newspaper clipping.

[81]

I prize that letter very much.

FUCHS: I imagine so. It's very nice.

MARKS: I received another letter from him when he was in New York.

FUCHS: Oh yes, I'd like to hear that one.

MARKS: I happen to have it here. I keep them together.

FUCHS: Is it from New York or England. I believe it's here.

MARKS: Oh, this is the one from London:

The Savoy Hotel
London
June, 1956

Dear Ted:

Here we are in that great English city,
London. I've had a walk down the Thames
embankment, been to a session of the
House of Commons and Lords, met all the
well-known members of both; been to Oxford
for a degree in Civil Law; have a red
robe and a Beefeater's hat -- cloak they
call it -- and am due for luncheon today
with the Lord Mayor and Mayoress of London.
Leave tomorrow and a State Dinner Monday
at 10 Downing Street. Sunday we go to
Winston Churchill's for lunch, and on
June 28 we sail for home on the United
States. I've seen the top people in
Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Holland

[82]

and Belgium, as well as here. Ted,
for some reason they seem to like me.
I've talked to the cooks, waiters, bar-
tenders, policemen, and they overwhelm
me with kindness towards the United
States. It was overwhelming and heart-
warming. Wishing you could take me to
Liverpool and Nottingham. One shilling,
maybe a half of one, would be all I'd
need in Nottingham. Say hello to Harry
Jobes, Keith, and the gang. The boss
joins me. Go see Rose and cheer her
up. Hear she's all right.

Sincerely,

Harry

That's from the Savoy Hotel in London.

FUCHS: About Mr. Truman's relationship with Spencer Salisbury. Do you remember anything specific about that?

MARKS: No, I didn't see much of them. Of course, I didn't see much of Spencer for many years. I don't know what happened in between.

FUCHS: Did they seem to get along well when they were overseas? Or did they see much of each other?

MARKS: Well, they didn't see much of each other overseas. We

[83]

were always busy with our own batteries. It kept us busy and we didn't have time to visit very often, unless at the canteen.

FUCHS: You haven't talked to Salisbury since the war, about his falling out with Mr. Truman?

MARKS: No, I have not.

FUCHS: You haven't. You have no first-hand knowledge of that then?

MARKS: I've seen him occasionally, but he's never said anything to him.

FUCHS: Well, that just about covers the ground, although I did want to ask you about Mr. Truman's so-called terrible temper. Have you ever had any occasion to observe when he lost his temper any more than the average person?

MARKS: Very seldom I've seen him that way. However, I'll say this. If you cross his path, you'll know about it. We have never had a cross word since I met him, when he enlisted me.

FUCHS: You two hit it off very well.

MARKS: Very well, indeed.

American Legion, 35
American Legion National Convention, 1921, 36

Battery A, Missouri National Guard, 11, 15, 16
Battery C, Missouri National Guard, 11, 15, 16
Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 37
Battery F, 129th Field Artillery, 15, 16
Bergfeldt and Roueche, Kansas City, Mo., 10
Board of Trade Building, Kansas City, Mo., 27
Boxley, Fred A., 12
Boyer, Ned, 24

Camp Doniphan, Okla., 17-21
Churchill, Winston S., 63-65
Clifford, Clark M., 68, 70
Collett, J. Caskie, 76
Collins, George R., 8, 12
Conway, Rose A., 82

Dancy Keith W., 16-17, 77, 82
Dorn, James, 77

Fitzsimmons Post, American Legion, 35
Ford, Tirey J., 35, 36
Ft. Riley, Kan., 59, 60
Fulton, Mo., 63-65, 76

Gates, Marvin H., 19
Grandview, Mo., 29

Heim, Joseph, 41-42
Hinde, Edgar G., 77

Jacobson, Edward (Eddie), 17, 32, 33
Jobes, Harry C., 77, 82
John Finley Green Lecture, 76

Kiosque barrage, 25
Klemm, Karl, 38-42

Lee's Summit, Mo., 78, 79

Marks, Theodore (Ted):

• • Army Reserve, participation in after World War I, 30-31
    Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, duties as an officer at, 1917, 17-21
    Churchill, Winston, meets, March, 1946, 63-65
    Department of Labor, employed by, 50-53
    early life, 1-2
    Europe, trip to representing the Veterans Employment Service, 1950, 72-73
    France, overseas duty in, World War I, 22-26
    Fulton, Mo., trip to with President Harry S. Truman, Mar., 1946, 63-65
    Government panel visiting Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations, as member of, 55
    Grenadier Guards, as member of, 1-4
    Japanese war criminals, meets, 57
    Masonic Order, as member of, 74-75
    Mexican Border, 1916, service on, 13
    National Guard, enlists in the, 6-7
    129th Field Artillery, as an officer in the, 15
    Paris, trip to during World War I, 44-45
    Smith, Emery T., recommendation from, 40
    as a tailor, 5
    as a tailor in Kansas City, Mo., 9-10, 13
    tailoring business, closes to serve on Mexican Border in 1916, 10
    tailoring business, as proprietor of in Kansas City, Mo., 38
    tailoring trade after World War I, return to, 27
    Truman Harry S.:
    • best man at wedding of, 1919, 26-29
      evaluation of as politician, 47-50
      first meeting with, 7
      Fulton, Mo., accompanies on trip to, 1946, 63-66
      Harry S., host to a home in Lee's Summit, Mo., 1951, 77-80
      letters received from, 80-82
      made suits for, 32
      made wedding suit for, 27
      Westminster College, Fulton, Mo., accompanies to for John Finley Green Lecture, 76
    United States, as immigrant to the, 1, 2, 4-6
    U.S.S. Williamsburg, vacation cruise with President Truman on, 66-72
    Veterans Employment Service, as associate Chief of, 52-55
    Veterans Employment Service, staff field representative for, 51-55
    veterans organizations, membership and participation in, 34-37
    Vosges Mountains, recollection of combat in, World War I, 23-26
    White House, difficulties in gaining admission during first visit to, 61-62
    White House, visits to during the Truman administration, 63
    World War I, experiences in, 14-26
• McGee, Thomas,16
  Meisburger, Edward P., 77
  Merchant Tailor's Association, 10
  Miles, John L., 77
  Missouri National Guard, l1-14
  Mittlach Valley, France, 24

   

  129th Field Artillery, 14-26
  130th Field Artillery, 59

  Pittam, Thomas J., 12

  Ridge, Albert. A., 31, 33-34

  Sachs, Alex F., 77, 78
  Sanford-Brown Post, American Legion, 35
  Saxonia, U.S.S., 22
  2nd Missouri Field Artillery, 11
  Secret Service, U.S., 78, 79, 80
  Smith, Emery T., 39-41
  Snyder, John W., 58, 59, 68
  Statler Hotel, Washington, D.C.,62

  35th Division Association, 35
  Tiernan, Rev. Curtis L., 77
  Tirey J. Ford Post, American Legion, Independence, Mo., 35, 36
  Tobin, Maurice J., 58, 59
  Trenary, Ira, 6
  Truman, Harry S.:

  • advance overseas detail, 129th Field Artillery (World War I), member of, 19
    Army reserve, participation in after World War I, 30-31
    automobile at Camp Doniphan, Okla., 1917, 19
    as battery clerk in Missouri National Guard, 8, 11
    battery commander, ability as, 18-19
    Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, assumes command of, 23
    Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, relationship with members of after World War I, 48-49
    Battery F, 129th Field Artillery, elected 1st Lieutenant of, 15
    Camp Doniphan, Okla., duties as an Army officer at, 1917, 17-22
    England, visit to, 1956, 81-82
    as a fisherman, 69-71
    Fulton, Mo., trip to, March, 1946, 63-66
    John Finley Green Lecture, gives at Westminster College, Fulton, Mo., 76
    Marks, Ted:
    • first meeting with, 7
      letters written by to, 80-82
      obtains position for Veterans Employment Service, 60
      visits home of, 1951, 77-80
    naps, fondness for, 29
    129th Field Artillery Regiment, helps organize, 15-16
    as a poker player, 69
    political career, beginning of, 43-44
    politics, fondness for, 46-48
    as Regimental canteen officer, Camp Doniphan, Okla., 1917, 17-17a
    trips on Presidential yacht, 66-72
    Truman and Jacobson haberdashery, partners in, 31-33
    wedding, 26-29
    Williamsburg, U.S.S., vacation cruise with Ted Marks on, 66-72
  Truman, Mrs. John A. (Martha Ellen Truman), 27-28, 29

   

  Vaughan, Harry H., 59, 68, 70, 71
  Vosges Mountains, 22, 23-26

  Wallace, George, 28
  Westminster College, Fulton, Mo., 63, 64, 76
  Williamsburg, U.S.S., 66, 67, 68