Dates: 1916-1992
The World War I Collection contains correspondence, printed materials, diaries, memoirs, military records, and other items relating to the First World War. These materials came to the Truman Library from a number of different sources.
Size: Less than one linear foot (about 1,200 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: No donation of copyright was received with these materials. Documents created by officials of the U.S. Government in the course of their duties are in the public domain. The copyright in other documents in the collection presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Randy Sowell (2019, 2024).
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Historical Note | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
Harry S. Truman was the only President of the United States who served in combat during World War I. Over the years, the Truman Library received many donations of letters, memos, military records, scrapbooks, written recollections, and other items concerning the war in general, and more specifically relating to the wartime activities and postwar commemorations of Battery D and its commanding officer, Captain Harry S. Truman. Most of these donations consisted of only a few items or a few pages of material, so they were initially filed in the Miscellaneous Historical Documents Collection (MHDC) or the General Historical Documents Collection (GHDC).
In 2019, the Library’s staff removed the materials relating to World War I from the MHDC and GHDC and placed them in a new World War I Collection. The original MHDC and GHDC numbers are included in the folder title list.
The World War I Collection contains correspondence, printed materials, diaries, memoirs, military records, and other items relating to the First World War. These materials came to the Truman Library from a number of different sources.
Much of the collection is concerned with Harry S. Truman’s military service during the “Great War” as a Lieutenant in Battery F of the 129th Field Artillery Regiment of the 35th Division, and later as Captain of Battery D in the same regiment. Included are Truman’s official report on Battery D’s first experience under fire, the so-called “Battle of Who Run” in the Vosges Mountains; other documents written or signed by Truman during or immediately after the war; his military leave and pay records; and materials relating to various postwar activities, including reunions of Battery D veterans and tributes to Truman’s service in World War I. The collection also contains letters and diaries written by officers and enlisted men who served in the war, and printed materials relating to the conflict, such as a songbook and a pamphlet for soldiers summarizing President Woodrow Wilson’s war aims.
More information about World War I can be found in the Harry S. Truman Papers (Papers Pertaining to Family, Business, and Personal Affairs) and in Record Group 391 (Records of Battery D, 129th Field Artillery). The Truman Library also has the personal papers and oral history interviews of many veterans of Battery D and the 129th Field Artillery, including Lorain Cunningham, Edward McKim, Edward Meisburger, and McKinley Wooden.
| Container Nos. | Series | |
| 1-2 | SUBJECT FILE, 1916-1992 Correspondence, printed materials, diaries, memoirs, military records, and other items. Arranged alphabetically by folder title, and thereunder chronologically. |
- "A Message in Defence of Mankind": Reproduction of President Woodrow Wilson’s War Message to Congress, April 2, 1917 [GHDC 69]
- American Legion: Constitution Adopted by the St. Louis Caucus, May 10, 1919
- Battery D: Birthday Message from Surviving Members to Harry S. Truman [MHDC 131]
- Battery D: Invitation to Fourth Annual St. Patrick’s Day Banquet, Kansas City, Mo., c. 1922 [GHDC 4]
- Battery D: Memo by J. R. Fuchs on Service in the Vosges Mountains, February 9,1979 [MHDC 421]
- Battery D: Official Report by Captain Harry S. Truman on the “Battle of Who Run,” with Other Items (Donated by Mark McLoughlin)
- Blankemeier, Charles: Recollections of Battery D Mess Cook [MHDC 233] (Donated by William McCorkle)
- Bronze Bust of Captain Harry S. Truman: Dedication Program, Harry S. Truman Library, June 14, 1970 [MHDC 132]
- Chinn, Burton E.: Papers of a Corporal in Battery F, 129th F.A. [GHDC 239] (Donated by Mrs. Burton E. Chinn)
- Clarke, Major Samuel G.: “Memoirs of World War I” by an Officer in the 139th Infantry, 35th Division [GHDC 161] (Donated by Dorothy Clarke)
- Conway, James B.: Letters from Harry S. Truman and Other Items Relating to His Service in Battery D, 1945-1964 [MHDC 331]
- Dancy, Keith W.: War Diary of Captain of Battery A, 129th F.A., with Poem, “The Battle of the Argonne” [MHDC 723] (Donated by Jim Bevers)
- Disselhoff, Willie: Copy of Memo from Lt. Harry S. Truman, January 7, 1918 [MHDC 432] (Donated by the Liberty Memorial Museum)
- Doerr, Walter H.: Reminiscences of a World War I Veteran [MHDC 708]
- Foch, Ferdinand: Letter to the Officers and Men of the Allied Armies, November 12, 1918 [GHDC 96]
- French Phrase-Books for U.S. Soldiers, and Postcard [MHDC 732]
- George V: Copy of Letter from King of England Welcoming U.S. Soldiers to Europe, April 1918 [GHDC 191] (Donated by Thelma Haynes)
- Hadra, Dr. Edward: Excerpt from Diary of a Physician in the German Army [GHDC 15] (Donated by Dr. Edward Hadra)
- Hermeville: Note by Harry S. Truman Regarding the Last Town His Battery Fired on in World War I [MHDC 124]
- Last Man’s Club, Battery F, 129th F.A.: Presentation to Harry S. Truman, July 1957 [MHDC 54]
- Marks, Ted: Postcard from France and Related Documents [MHDC 652]
- Mays, Chester: Letter to Family From Lieutenant in the 128th F.A., January 11, 1919 [GHDC 87] (Donated by Mrs. L. Newton Wylder)
- McCarty, William: Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army, Signed by Captain Harry S. Truman, May 6, 1919 [MHDC 236]
- Messmer, James: Papers of Battery D Veteran, 1917-1974 [MHDC 850] (Donated by Shirley M. Anderson)
- Miles, Major John: Military Journal with Leave Records of Lt. Harry S. Truman and Others, c. 1917 [MHDC 29]
- Military Pay Records of Harry S. Truman, 1917-1933 [MHDC 116]
- Montague, Private Elmer C.: Copy of Diary of Member of Battery D, 129th F.A. [MHDC 735]
- Moore, Corporal Fulton: Postcard to Albert Edmonds, June 3, 1918, Censored by Harry S. Truman [MHDC 418
- Olson, Frank R.: "Small Arms Firing School Note Book" [MHDC 742]
- Moore, Corporal Fulton: Postcard to Albert Edmonds, June 3, 1918, Censored by Harry S. Truman [MHDC 418]
- Pages of American Glory: World War I Booklet [GHDC 266] (Donated by William Latta)
- Pershing, John J.: Description of Sword Presented to Him by the People of Missouri
- Postcards Sent From France During World War I [GHDC 189] (Donated by Clarice Clarke)
Box 2
- Pugh, Joseph A.: Scrapbook No. 1, Press Clippings Concerning World War I [GHDC 188] (Donated by Joseph A. Pugh)
- Pugh, Joseph A.: Scrapbook No. 2, Press Clippings Concerning World War I [GHDC 188] (Donated by Joseph A. Pugh)
- Sampson, Cliff: Letter from Corporal in Battery D to Jim Coulter, January 6, 1919 [MHDC 420] (Donated by Joseph S. Coulter)
- Sanders, John and Thomas: Papers of Brothers Who Served in the 138th Infantry Regiment [GHDC 280]
- Shaffer, Daniel: Correspondence with Myrtle Robinson Welton and Other Documents [MHDC 463]
- Songs of the 129th Field Artillery (Donated by Eli Noland)
- Thanksgiving Day Dinner Menu: Battery F, 129th F.A., Camp Doniphan, November 24, 1917 [MHDC 840] (Donated by Margaret Baker)
- 35th Division: Kansas City Star Article, May 19, 1919, Found in the Truman Home [MHDC 658]
- Truman, Ralph E.: Commendation for Patrol, November 1918 [MHDC 934] (Donated by Isaac B. Franklin)
- USS George Washington: Passenger List For Voyage to Europe, With Names of Harry S. Truman and Others, 1918 [MHDC 90]
- War Department Identification Card of Harry S. Truman, 1917 [MHDC 289]
- Wilson, Arthur: Copy of Letter from Harry S. Truman, January 8. 1919 [MHDC 404, 436]
- Wilson, Woodrow: Pamphlet for Servicemen, "Why Are We Fighting" [MHDC 742]