Oral Histories

  Contents: Listed by last name: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X-Y-Z

The Truman Library has approximately 500 interviews supplementing the written record of Harry S. Truman's life and times. The interviews are available in transcript form and range in length from fewer than 10 to over 1,000 pages, with most being between 20 and 200 pages. Most of the interviews include a name and subject index attached to the transcript. There is a cumulative index for the entire oral history collection available in the research room at the Library.

The list below gives the name of the person interviewed, his or her principal positions, and the number of pages in the transcript. This list does not include information about specific copyright or donor restrictions. This information is included with the individual interview transcripts. Interviews that were conducted by an oral history program other than the Library's are properly accredited. Interviews with friends, neighbors, and personal associates of Harry S. Truman have been conducted by the National Park Service, and transcripts can be found on their website.

• RANDALL, WILLIAM J. Member, U.S. House of Representatives, Fourth District of Missouri, 1959-77. Also an interview conducted by the William Jewell College Oral History Project, 26 pages.

• RAUH, JOSEPH L., JR. U.S. Army officer on Gen. Douglas MacArthur's staff, 1942-45; officer of the Americans for Democratic Action, 1947-57. 102 pages.

• REIFF, HENRY. Legal specialist in international organization, Department of State, 1944-46. 88 pages.

• REINHARDT, G. FREDERICK. U.S. consul general, Moscow, U.S.S.R., 1947; Chief, Division of Eastern European Affairs, 1948-50, and Director, Office of Eastern European Affairs, 1950, Department of State; Counselor, U.S. Embassy in Paris, France, 1951-55. 28 pages.

• REINSCH, J. LEONARD. White House radio adviser, 1945-52. 147 pages.

• REISTER, PHILIP D. Truman Family Physician, 1955-1970. 15 pages.

• RENFROW, LOUIS H. Assistant Military Aide to the President, 1947-49; Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, 1949-50; Deputy Director of Selective Service, 1950-57. 158 pages.

• RICE, MRS. STUART A. Wife of Stuart A. Rice, Assistant Director for Statistical Standards, Bureau of the Budget, 1940-55. 167 pages.

• RICKETTS, FLOYD T. Member, Battery D, 129th Field Artillery during World War I. 35 pages.

• RIDDLEBERGER, JAMES W. Chief, Division of Central European Affairs, Department of State, 1944-47; Counselor, U.S. Embassy, and Chief, Political Section, American Military Government, Berlin, Germany, 1947-50; political adviser to the Economic Cooperation Administration, Paris, France, 1950-52; Director, Bureau of German Affairs, Department of State, 1952-53. Two interviews, 222 pages.

• RIGDON, WILLIAM M. Assistant Naval Aide to the President, 1942-53. 65 pages.

• RIGGS, ROBERT L. Chief, Washington D.C. bureau, Louisville Courier-Journal, 1942-67. 50 pages.

• RILEY, RUSSELL L. Assistant Chief, Division of Libraries and Institutes, Department of State, 1949-50; Director of Personnel, Economic Stabilization Agency, 1951; Deputy Director, Office of Educational Exchange, Department of State, 1951-52; Assistant Administrator, International Information Administration, 1952-53; Director, International Educational Exchange Service, Department of State, 1953-58. 94 pages.

• RINGLAND, ARTHUR. Executive Director, Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, 1946-52. 73 pages.

• RINGWALT, ARTHUR R. Chief, Division of Chinese Affairs, Department of State, 1946-48; First Secretary, U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom, 1949-57. 41 pages.

• ROACH, NEALE. Assistant director, Democratic National Convention, 1944; manager of the 1948, 1952, and 1956 Democratic National Conventions. 102 pages.

• ROBERTSON OF OAKRIDGE, GENERAL LORD. United Kingdom Deputy Military Governor, 1945-48 and Commander in Chief and Military Governor, 1948-49, Germany; United Kingdom High Commissioner, Allied High Commission, Germany, 1949-50. 21 pages.

• ROBINSON, HAROLD G. Chief Investigator, Special Committee of the Senate to Investigate the National Defense Program (Truman Committee), 1941-45. 134 pages.

• ROCKWELL, STUART W. Second Secretary and consul, U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, 1946-48; Officer in Charge, Palestine-Israel-Jordan Affairs, Department of State, 1948-50; political adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force, 1950-52; First Secretary and consul, U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain, 1952-53. 34 pages.

• ROLL, SIR ERIC. Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Food, United Kingdom, 1946-47; Under Secretary, Ministry of the Treasury, United Kingdom, 1948; Minister, United Kingdom delegation, Organization for European Economic Cooperation, 1949. 28 pages.

• ROSENFIELD, HARRY N. Commissioner, Displaced Persons Commission, 1948-52. 135 pages.

• ROSENMAN, SAMUEL I. Special Counsel to the President, 1945-46. 109 pages.

• ROUNTREE, WILLIAM M. Staff officer on the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine, 1945-46; special assistant to the director, Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs, Department of State, 1946-48; member of the American Economic Mission to Greece, 1947; diplomatic service in Greece, 1948-49, Turkey, 1952-53, and Iran, 1953-55; Deputy Director, 1949-50, and Director, 1952, Office of Greek, Turkish and Iranian Affairs, Department of State. 73 pages.

• ROWE, JAMES H., JR. Democratic Party adviser; Administrative Assistant to the President, 1939-41; technical adviser, International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-46; member, 1952 and 1960 Democratic presidential campaign staffs. 161 pages.

• ROWLEY, JAMES J. Secret Service agent in charge of the White House detail during the Truman Administration. 64 pages.

• RUFFIN, JAMES E. Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, 1935-54. 74 pages.

• RUSSELL, FRANCIS H. Director, Office of Public Affairs, Department of State, 1945-52. 48 pages.

• SACHS, HANS-GEORG. Counselor of the Ministerial Department for the Marshall Plan, Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-52. 32 pages.

• SALANT, WALTER S. Economist, Council of Economic Advisers, 1946-52. 98 pages.

• SALTZMAN, CHARLES E. Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas, 1947-49. 25 pages.

• SANDERS, TED J. Cameron, Missouri, friend of the Truman family. 88 pages.

• SANDERS, WILLIAM. Associate Chief, Division of International Organization Affairs, Office of Special Political Affairs, Department of State, 1945-48; Special Assistant, Bureau of U.N. Affairs, Department of State, 1950-52. 31 pages.

• SANDIFER, DURWARD V. Deputy Director, Office of U.N. Affairs, Department of State, 1947-49; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for U.N. Affairs, 1949-54. 139 pages.

• SATTERTHWAITE, JOSEPH C. Deputy Director, 1947-48, and Director, 1948-49, Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs, Department of State; Ambassador to Ceylon, 1949-53. 46 pages.

• SCHNEIDER, J. THOMAS. Chairman, Personnel Policy Board, Department of Defense, 1950-51; Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs, 1952-53. 94 pages.

• SCHWABE, GEORGIA MAY. Wife of US Congressman Max Schwabe (served 1942-48) of Missouri. 25 pages.

• SCHUSTERMAN, GLORIA. Daughter of Edward Jacobson, U.S. Army associate, friend, and business partner of Harry S. Truman, 24 pages.

• SEIDMAN, HAROLD D. Staff member, Bureau of the Budget, 1943-68; Assistant Director for Management and Organization, Bureau of the Budget, 1964-68. 158 pages.

• SERVICE, JOHN STEWART. Political adviser to the Commander in Chief of American forces in the China-Burma-India Theater, 1943-45; executive officer to the political adviser to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in the Far East, 1945-46; First Secretary of the American Legation, Wellington, New Zealand, 1946-48. Interview conducted by the Regional Oral History Office, University of California, Berkeley. 522 pages.

• SHORT, MRS. JOSEPH H. Correspondence Secretary to the President, 1952-53. 111 pages.

• SIMS, PAULINE and PANSY PERKINS. Grandview, Missouri, friends of the Truman family. 71 pages.

• SLATER, HAROLD M. City Editor, St. Joseph News-Press, 1927-79. 74 pages.

• SLAUGHTER, STEPHEN S. Grandview, Missouri, neighbor and acquaintance of the Truman family. 105 pages.

• SMITH, R. BURR. Economist, Department of State, 1946-49; member, U.S. delegation, Far Eastern Commission, 1947-49; member, U.S. delegation, Austrian Treaty Conference, 1949; commercial attache, U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, 1950-53. 77 pages.

• SNOW, CONRAD E. Staff member in charge of clemency, Office of the Under Secretary of War, and member of the Clemency Board (Roberts Board), 1945-46; Assistant Legal Adviser for Political Affairs, Department of State, 1946-50; member, Advisory Board for War Criminals, High Commissioner for Germany, 1950; Chairman, Loyalty-Security Board, Department of State, 1947-52; Assistant Legal Adviser for Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State, 1950-56. 51 pages.

• SNOY, JEAN CHARLES. Chairman, Organization for European Economic Cooperation, 1948-50. Two interviews, 51 pages.

• SNYDER, JOHN W. Secretary of the Treasury, 1946-53. 1,932 pages. Also interviews by the Oral History Committee of the Treasury Historical Association, 184 pages, and by the William Jewell College Oral History Project, 80 pages.

• SOMMERS, DAVIDSON. Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, 1946; staff attorney, 1946-49, and General Counsel and Vice President, 1949-59, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), 1946-49. 57 pages.

• SONNENHOL, GUSTAV A. Information officer, Marshall Plan Ministry, Germany, 1949-54. 28 pages.

• SOUTHARD, FRANK A., JR. Director, Office of International Finance, Department of the Treasury, 1947-48; Associate Director, Research and Statistics, in charge of International Section, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System, 1948-49; U.S. executive director, International Monetary Fund, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. alternate governor, Boards of Governors of the International Bank and the International Monetary Fund, 1949-62. 48 pages.

• SPARKS, WILBUR D. Investigator on the staff of the Special Committee of the Senate to Investigate the National Defense Program (Truman Committee), 1941-46. 190 pages.

• SPINGARN, STEPHEN J. Assistant general counsel, Department of the Treasury, 1946-49; member of the President's Temporary Commission on Employee Loyalty, 1946-47; Deputy Director of the Office of Contract Settlement, 1947-49; Special Assistant in the White House Office, 1949-50; Administrative Assistant to the President, 1950; member, Federal Trade Commission, 1950-53. 1,105 pages.

• SPROUSE, PHILIP D. Assistant Chief, 1947, and Chief, 1948, Division of Chinese Affairs, Department of State; Director, Office of Chinese Affairs, Department of State, 1949; First Secretary, 1950-51, and Counselor, 1952-53, U.S. Embassy in Paris, France. 125 pages.

• STAATS, ELMER B. Comptroller General of the United States, 1966-81. Interview conducted by the General Accounting Office History Program, 150 pages.

• STASSEN, HAROLD E. Member, U.S. delegation, U.N. Conference on International Organization, San Francisco, 1945. 40 pages.

• STEELMAN, JOHN R. Assistant to the President, 1946-53. 65 pages. Also an interview conducted by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 78 pages.

• STEPHENS, A. J. Kansas City businessman and friend of Harry S. Truman. 55 pages.

• STEWART, ANTOINETTE F. Wife of Martin L. Friedman, Special Assistant in the White House Office, 1950-53. 22 pages.

• STIKKER, DIRK U. Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands, 1948-52. Two interviews, 108 pages.

• STINEBOWER, LEROY D. Deputy Director, Office of International Trade Policy, 1945; Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, 1946-49; Director, Office of Financial and Development Policy, 1949-52. 97 pages.

• STOKES, ISAAC N. P. Associate Chief, Division of International Organization Affairs, Department of State, 1945-48; Solicitor, Department of Commerce, 1949; general counsel, Office of U.S. Representative in Europe, Economic Cooperation Administration, 1949-50; Special Assistant, 1950-51 and general counsel, 1952-53, Mutual Security Agency. 104 pages.

• STOWE, DAVID H. Administrative Assistant to the President, 1949-53. 98 pages. Deputy to the Assistant to the President, 1947-49; Administrative Assistant to the President, 1949-53; aid to former President Truman during the 1960 presidential campaign. Also an interview conducted by Charles Morrissey, 135 pages. Also an interview conducted by the William Jewell College Oral History Project, 42 pages. SEE also the listing for THE TRUMAN WHITE HOUSE.

• STOWE, DAVID H. and WILLIAM BRAY. Assistants to the Assistant to the President, John R. Steelman ca. 1944-49; aids to former President Truman during the 1960 presidential campaign. 90 pages. See also The Truman White House oral history interview.

• STRAUSS, ANNA LORD. President, League of Women Voters, 1944-50. 55 pages.

• STRAUSS, LEWIS L. Member, Atomic Energy Commission, 1946-50; Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, 1953-58. 58 pages.

• STRODE, JOHN J. Grandview, Missouri, friend of the Truman family. 85 pages.

• STROUT, RICHARD L. Reporter, Washington, D.C. bureau, Christian Science Monitor, 1925-84. 69 pages.

• STUART, HAROLD C. Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Civil Affairs, 1949-51. Interview conducted by the U.S. Air Force Systems Command, 71 pages.

• SULLIVAN, JOHN L. Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, 1945-46; Under Secretary of the Navy, 1946-47; Secretary of the Navy, 1947-49. 90 pages.

• SUNDQUIST, JAMES L. Administrative analyst, Bureau of the Budget, 1941-47, 1949-51. 56 pages.

• SWEENEY, ROBERT L. Employee and supervisor, Kansas City, Missouri, Post Office, 1926-64, and friend of Harry S. Truman. 46 pages.

• SWOYER, MARTHA ANN. Daughter of J. Vivian and Luella Truman, niece of Harry S. Truman. 62 pages.

• SWYDEN, VICTOR. Member of the Kansas City, Missouri, Council, 1963-83; and GEORGE D. OWEN, Independence chief of police, 1967-72. 34 pages.

• SYMINGTON, STUART. Assistant Secretary of War for Air, 1946-47; Secretary of the Air Force, 1947-50; Chairman, National Security Resources Board, 1950-51; Administrator, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, 1951-52; U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1953-77. 86 pages.

• TAMES, GEORGE. Photographer for Time magazine, 1938-45 and the New York Times, 1945-85. 73 pages. Also an interview conducted by the U. S. Senate Historical Office, 194 pages.

• TANNENWALD, THEODORE, JR. Assistant Director and Chief of Staff to the Director, Mutual Security Agency, 1951-53. 84 pages.

• THACHER, NICHOLAS G. Foreign Service Officer whose assignments related to South Asia and the Middle East, 1947-73. 81 pages.

• THEIS, J.WILLIAM. Chief, U.S. Senate staff of the International News Service, 1945-58; chief, U.S. Senate staff of United Press International, 1958-68. 48 pages.

• THELEN, EDWARD F. Associate of Harry S. Truman in the Army Reserve officers training program, 1930-40. 64 pages.

• THORP, WILLARD L. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, 1946-52. 182 pages.

• TIMMONS, BENSON E. L., III. Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 1946-48; Special Assistant to the Chief, 1948-49, and Deputy Chief, 1949-54, Economic Cooperation Administration Mission to France. 25 pages.

• TOLAN, JOHN H., JR. Naval liaison officer with the Special Committee of the Senate to Investigate the National Defense Program (Truman Committee), 1943-45. 228 pages.

• TREZISE, PHILIP H. Office of Intelligence Research, Department of State, 1943-56. 44 pages.

• TROHAN, WALTER. Executive director, 1947-49, and chief, 1949-69, Washington, D.C. bureau of the Chicago Tribune. 129 pages.
  
  
• TRUMAN, FRED L. Son of J. Vivian and Luella Truman, nephew of Harry S. Truman. 72 pages. Also an interview conducted by the William Jewell College Oral History Project, 18 pages.

• TRUMAN, LOUIS W. General, US Army; cousin of Harry S. Truman. 100 pages.

• TRUMAN, MARY JANE. Sister of Harry S. Truman. 78 pages. Also an interview conducted by the William Jewell College Oral History Project, 37 pages.

• THE TRUMAN WHITE HOUSE. Joint interview with Charles S. Murphy, Special Counsel to the President, 1950-53; Richard E. Neustadt, Special Assistant in the White House Office, 1950-53; David H. Stowe, Administrative Assistant to the President, 1949-53; and James E. Webb, Director of the Bureau of the Budget, 1946-49. Interview conducted by the National Academy of Public Administration, 104 pages.

• TSALDARIS, CONSTANTINE. Prime Minister, Greece, 1946-47. 27 pages.

• TUBBY, ROGER. Assistant Press Secretary to the President, 1950-52; Press Secretary to the President, 1952-53. 144 pages.

• TURNER, J.C. Official, International Union of Operating Engineers. 54 pages.

• TYSON, WILLIAM S. Solicitor, Department of Labor, 1945-53. 73 pages.

• VAN DER BEUGEL, E.H. Director, Bureau for the Marshall Plan, Foreign Affairs Office, the Netherlands, 1947-52. 63 pages. Also an interview conducted by Theodore Wilson of the University of Kansas, 27 pages.

• VANATTA, REGNA. Grandview, Missouri, friend of the Truman family. 48 pages.

• VAN KLEFFENS, EELCO. Ambassador to the United States, the Netherlands, 1947-50. 16 pages.

• VAUGHAN, HARRY H. Military Aide to Harry S. Truman as Vice President, 1945, and as President, 1945-53. 157 pages. Also an interview conducted by the William Jewell College Oral History Project, 54 pages.

• VEATCH, N. T. Consulting engineer, Jackson County, Missouri, Highway Department, 1926-33. 87 pages.

• VERNON, RAYMOND. Assistant Director, Exchange and Trading Division, Department of State, 1942-46; Assistant Director, International Resources Division, Department of State, 1946-48; member, U.S. delegation, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Geneva, 1950, Torquay, 1951, and vice chairman, U.S. delegation, 1952. 62 pages.

• VOLTZ, PHILLIP W. Staff member, Rural Electrification Administration, Department of Agriculture, 1949-52; Chief, Farmers Service Division, Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, Technical Cooperation Administration, Department of State, 1952-56. 35 pages.

• VON SUSSKIND, ALEXANDER. Deputy chief, Mission to the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-52. 21 pages.

• VON SYDOW, ERIK. Permanent delegate and head of the Swedish delegation, Organization for European Economic Cooperation, 1949-53. 37 pages.

• WALLACE, MAY (MARY FRANCES). Sister-in-law and neighbor of Harry S. and Bess Truman. 95 pages.

• WALSH, ROBERT K. Reporter, Washington, (D.C.) Evening Star, 1946-69. 208 pages.

• WARNE, WILLIAM E. Assistant Secretary of the Interior, 1947-51; Minister in Charge of Technical Cooperation, Iran, 1951-55. 113 pages.

• WARREN, EARL. Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, 1948; Chief Justice of the United States, 1953-69. 65 pages.

• WARREN, WILLIAM FLETCHER. Ambassador to Nicaragua, 1945-47; Ambassador to Paraguay, 1947-50; Director, Office of South American Affairs, Department of State, 1950; Ambassador to Venezuela, 1951-56. Interview conducted by the Oral History Program of East Texas State University, 297 pages.

• WARREN, GEORGE L. U.S. representative, General and Executive Committees, International Refugee Organization, 1948-52. 28 pages.

• WEATHERFORD, ROBERT P., JR. Mayor of Independence, 1950-58. 51 pages.

• WEAR, WILLIAM. Springfield, Missouri, attorney; friend and political supporter of Harry S. Truman; son of Sam M. Wear, longtime Truman friend and supporter. 61 pages.

• WEBB, JAMES E. Director, Bureau of the Budget, 1946-49. See The Truman White House oral history interview.

• WEDDLE, MARGARET. Grandview, Missouri, friend of the Truman family. 51 pages.

• WEIGLE, RICHARD D. Executive Officer, Office of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State, 1946-49. 31 pages.

• WERTS, LEO R. Director, Manpower Division, U.S. Military Government, Germany, 1945-49; Associate Director, Office of International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor, 1949-50; Deputy Executive Director, Defense Manpower Administration, 1950-53. 66 pages.

• WESTPHALL, POVL. Journalist, Denmark. 29 pages.

• WESTWOOD, PAUL "MIKE." Member of the Independence Police Department, 1937-73; chauffeur and bodyguard for former President Harry S. Truman, 1953-72. Interview conducted by the William Jewell College Oral History Project, 23 pages.

• WHITE, IVAN B. Foreign Service officer, 1935-65; financial officer, U.S. Embassy in Paris, France, 1944-48; Director, Finance and Economics, Allied Military Government, Trieste, Italy, 1948-50. 44 pages.

• WIKBORG, ERLING. Member of Parliament, Norway, 1945-49. 31 pages.

• WILCOX, FRANCIS O. Chief of Staff, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 1947-55. Interview conducted by the U.S. Senate Historical Office, 240 pages.

• WILKINS, FRASER. Foreign Service officer; Assistant Chief, Division of Near Eastern Affairs, Department of State, 1946-47; Officer in Charge, Palestine-Israel-Jordan Affairs, Department of State, 1949; Officer in Charge, Arabian Peninsula Affairs, Department of State, 1950; Director, Office of Near Eastern Affairs, Department of State, 1950; First Secretary and consul, U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, 1950-52. 85 pages.

• WILLIAMS, MAXINE. Tenant on the Truman family farm, Grandview, Missouri, 1954-83. 24 pages.

• WILSON, ARTHUR W. Associate of Harry S. Truman in World War I. 35 pages.

• WILSON, EVAN M. Foreign Service officer, 1937-67; Assistant Chief, Division of Near Eastern Affairs, Department of State, 1946-47; Second Secretary and vice consul and First Secretary and consul, U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, 1947-49. 84 pages.

• WILSON, KEITH, JR. City manager of Independence and acquaintance of Harry S. Truman. 42 pages.

• WOOD, C. TYLER. Deputy U.S. Special Representative in Europe, 1950-52; Associate Deputy Director, Mutual Security Agency, 1952-53. 98 pages.

• WOODEN, McKINLEY. Member, Battery D, 129th Field Artillery during World War I. Two interviews, 191 pages.

• WRIGHT, EDWIN M. Foreign Service officer; Special Assistant to the Director, Bureau of Near Eastern and African Affairs, Department of State, 1946-48. 440 pages.

• WYATT, ROBERT B. Grandview, Missouri, friend of the Truman family. 65 pages.

• YOUNG, ARTHUR N. Financial adviser to the Chinese Government, 1929-46; Director of the Point 4 Program in Saudi Arabia, 1951-52. 163 pages.

• YOUNG, JOHN P. Chief, Division of International Finance, Department of State, 1943-65. 85 pages.

• ZUCKERT, EUGENE. Member, Surplus Property Board, 1945-46; Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of War for Air, 1946-47; Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, 1947-52; member, Atomic Energy Commission, 1952-54. 83 pages.