Miller III, Jo Zach Papers

Friend of Harry S. Truman

The papers of Jo Zach Miller III include correspondence, memorabilia, printed materials, and photographs mostly relating to World War II and Miller's friendship with Harry S. Truman.

Size: 2.5 linear inches (about 400 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor, Dr. Patricia Cleary Miller (daughter-in-law), gave her copyright interest in writings in this collection, and in any other collection in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration, to the United States of America. Documents created by U.S. government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents in this collection presumably belongs to the creators of those documents or their heirs
Processed by: Zoe Honeck (2017) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

Jo Zach Miller III was a close friend of Harry S. Truman. His father, Jo Zach Miller, Jr., was the first governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, serving from 1916 to 1922.  Jo Zach Miller III was also a prominent banker in Kansas City. During World War II, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army.  Miller and his wife, Lena Ludlow Miller, were the parents of Jo Zach Miller IV (1916-2010), whose widow, Dr. Patricia Cleary Miller, donated this collection of papers to the Truman Library.

The papers of Jo Zach Miller III include correspondence, memorabilia, printed materials, and photographs mostly regarding World War II and Miller's friendship with Harry S. Truman.

The collection contains correspondence from former President Truman and from soldiers in Europe during World War II. During the war, Miller was a U.S. Army Colonel stationed in Washington, D.C.  The collection also contains memorabilia such as poems, Liberty Buttons, currency, stamps, and charts depicting U.S. military patches and their meanings.

The press clippings in the collection mostly date from 1944 and relate to the war. Included are several German-language publications, some of which were produced by the Allies for distribution among German troops. A few of the clippings pertain to Harry S. Truman and his family.  Other printed materials in the collection include propaganda leaflets in both German and English, produced by both sides in the conflict.  Photographs in the collection include images from the war in Europe and photos of Mr. Truman.

The Truman Post-Presidential Papers contain more information about Jo Zach Miller.