Motion Picture MP2002-322
Administrative Information
Merle Miller interviews Judge Albert Ridge, friend of Harry S. Truman. Judge Ridge discusses meeting Mr. Truman at Fort Sill when Captain Truman was in charge of the canteen. He details how Mr. Truman became commander of Battery D in France and how the members of the Battery made the haberdashery their headquarters after the war. Judge Ridge discusses how Mr. Truman encouraged him to study law, recommending certain books to study. Sound only.
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Shot List
Reel 1
| 0:00 | Unidentified voice says ". . . 114 take 1, sound 87." | |
| Merle Miller interviews Judge Albert Ridge, a friend of Harry S. Truman from Battery D, who later became a federal judge. | ||
| 0:45 | Judge Ridge states he met Harry S. Truman in 1917 at Camp Doniphan at Fort Sill when Captain Truman was in charge of the canteen, with Eddie Jacobson assisting. | |
| 2:58 | Mr. Ridge discusses circumstances leading to Mr. Truman becoming commander of Battery D, 129th Field Artillery in France. The men were upset over changes being made, and were rebellious when their popular Captain John Thacher was sent to regimental headquarters. The men staged a "shirt-tail parade" to let off steam. Mr. Truman earned their respect by not disciplining them for their conduct. | |
| 7:09 | Unidentified voice says “sound 89.” | |
| Judge Ridge reviews background of Mr. Truman assuming command of Battery D, noting that the Battery had a reputation of being wild and hard to handle. The men were expecting to be reprimanded for their "shirt-tail parade," (where the men were out in their underwear) but Captain Truman, sensing their frustration, merely issued the order "dismissed" after looking up and down the line several times. This understanding won the men's respect. | ||
| 10:19 | Mr. Ridge states that Mr. Truman's action was like a benediction, as though he'd said "Go, and sin no more." The love and respect for Captain Truman continues to this day. | |
| 11:19 | Mr. Ridge declares that the haberdashery was headquarters for the members of Battery D after the war. He, along, with other members of Battery D would go by Truman and Jacobson's. | |
| 12:40 | Mr. Ridge states that almost everyone from the 129th Field Artillery would stop by the haberdashery when in Kansas City. He would come to the store to visit with Truman in the evening, after working at a grocery store. Although in his 30s, Mr. Truman seemed much older to the Battery D men in their 20s who visited him at his store for advice and encouragement. | |
| 17:00 | Judge Ridge discusses how Mr. Truman encouraged him to study law and to study certain books to learn about the nature of man and western civilization. The Bible and "Plutarch's Lives" are on the list. Mr. Ridge was encouraged to talk about Jefferson, Jackson, and Johnson and about early history of Missouri. | |
| 19:46 | Mr. Ridge states that Harry Truman was always reading. Later, Mr. Truman would discuss Blackstone and other materials with the speaker as the visited on the balcony of the haberdashery. Judge Ridge says he did all his studying that balcony. |