Motion Picture MP2002-260
Administrative Information
Eddie Meisburger, a Battery D friend of Harry S. Truman, answers questions of an unidentified interviewer. Mr. Meisburger discusses how Captain Truman wins the cooperation of the men, always going to bat for his men, continuing to help them in civilian life. Sound only.
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Shot List
Reel 1
| 0:00 | Unidentified voice: ". . . take 1, sound 58 . . ." | |
| Interviewer begins asking questions of Eddie Meisburger, a Battery D friend of Harry S. Truman. Mr. Meisburger answers questions about their World War I service, Captain Truman, and Battery D. He discusses when he first met Mr Truman in 1918, when Mr. Truman became Captain of Battery D. The men were mostly from Kansas City, and found it hard to accept regimentation. They had had two or three other captains. Captain Truman gave them "a good, quiet, talking to." When they tested him the first night with a ruckus in the barracks, Mr. Truman called in the sergeants, who were told it was their responsibility. If it happened again, "their stripes would go in a hurry." From then on, it was a matter of mutual cooperation. The interviewer is unidentified. | ||
| 2:15 | Mr. Meisburger states that Mr. Truman would always go to bat for them; he had their interests at heart. They trusted him to get them back home. He was an efficient officer, and would go out of his way to help them. Mr. Meisburger claims Mr. Truman risked court martial by defying the Colonel's order to have the men double time up a hill. The Colonel had said the outfit was straggling, were a "sight to behold" and a "helluva looking outfit." Captain Truman ordered the men into a forest to bed down, then went to see the Colonel to explain the men were exhausted. Men knew Harry S. Truman had gone to bat for them, risking court martial. | |
| 5:30 | Mr. Truman is described as continuing to help his men in civilian life. On one occasion, he contacted Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri on behalf of a man needing help. | |