Vaughan, Harry H. Papers

Military Aide to the President, 1945-1953

The Harry H. Vaughan Papers consist of correspondence, newspaper and magazine articles, a diary, an unpublished memoir, legal documents, and other items relating mostly to Vaughan’s service in the White House as Military Aide to President Truman.

See also Harry H. Vaughan oral history.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 1.6 linear feet (approximately 3,200 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Upon the donor’s death, all literary property rights in his writings in the collection passed to the United States of America. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of these documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1964).
Updated by: Lee Williams (2006) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1893 (November 26)		Born, Glasgow, Missouri
1916		Received a bachelor's degree from Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri
1917		Met and befriended Harry S. Truman during Army training in Oklahoma
1918		Promoted to the rank of captain in the field artillery; served as liaison officer and battery commander in France; awarded the Silver Star and the Croix de Guerre
1926-1934		Plant manager and salesman for the T. J. Mass Tie Company
1928		Promoted to major on reserve duty
1935		Promoted to lieutenant colonel on reserve duty
1940		Treasurer for Senator Truman's reelection campaign
1941-1942		Secretary to Senator Truman
1942-1943		Recalled to active duty, served as provost marshal in Brisbane, Australia
1943-1944		Liaison officer to the Truman Committee
1945-1953		Military Aide to Mr. Truman as Vice-President and President
1945		Promoted to temporary rank of brigadier general
1946		Promoted to temporary rank of major general
1947		Awarded permanent rank of major general
1949		Testified before Senate subcommittee regarding his involvement in the “five-percenter” scandal
1953		Retired from military service
1981 (May 20)		Died, Fort Belvoir, Virginia

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Harry H. Vaughan mostly pertain to his work as White House Military Aide during the Truman administration. A longtime friend of the President, General Vaughan served as Truman’s official liaison to the U.S. Army. Truman relished Vaughan’s sense of humor, enjoyed his companionship on social occasions, and valued his unquestioned loyalty. Vaughan’s papers include references to military affairs and personnel matters, but they reflect minimal involvement in policymaking. Much of his correspondence is personal in nature, dealing with gifts and requests for official favors from friends and acquaintances. Most of the collection documents the public controversies in which Vaughan became embroiled while serving on the White House staff.

In the summer of 1949, a Senate Investigations Subcommittee known as the “Hoey Committee,” chaired by Senator Clyde Hoey (D-North Carolina), conducted an investigation of influence peddlers—dubbed “five-percenters”—who allegedly gained government contracts and favors through General Vaughan. Vaughan was never charged with a crime, but his acceptance of deep-freezes as gifts for himself and others in the administration was denounced as improper. Hostile journalists and members of Congress made Vaughan a symbol of “cronyism” and corruption in the Truman administration.

The Vaughan papers are arranged in three series: the Alphabetical File, the Subject File, and the Five Percent Investigation File. Included in the collection are many newspaper and magazine articles by Drew Pearson and other journalists who were critical of Vaughan; drafts of Vaughan’s unpublished memoir, “Whipping Boy—First Class”; his statement in his own defense before the Hoey Committee; and extensive information concerning the “five-percenter” investigation. Vaughan also collected some derogatory material concerning Pearson, his principal nemesis in the press.

The rest of the collection includes a diary from 1942, documenting Vaughan’s service as provost marshal in Brisbane, Australia during World War II; material relating to the redesign of the Presidential flag and seal during the Truman administration; and microfilmed scrapbooks mostly containing personal information about Vaughan.

Further information concerning Harry H. Vaughan is available at the Truman Library in his oral history interview, and in the papers of Cornelius J. Mara (Vaughan’s subordinate at the White House) and Harry S. Truman (especially in President’s Personal File 2115, the President’s Secretary’s Files, and the Post-Presidential Papers).

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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