HARRY TRUMAN'S MOTHER IN LAW

Poor Harry Truman. One of the greats. Accomplished what he did while living with his mother in law for 33 years. A woman described as a mother in law from Hell.

Margaret "Madge" Gates Wallace lived as a dowager. She was the top of the social hierarchy in Independence, Missouri. Raised and lived in one of the biggest homes. Her family had servants, lace curtains and Brussell carpets on the floor.

Truman came from the other side of the tracks. Literally. He was a farmer's son and a dirt farmer himself till 33. He never graduated from college, could not seem to hold a job down after his farming days were over. Failed as a haberdasher. Lost a ton of money in a zinc mining operation that failed.

Bess was the well heeled granddaughter of Independence's Flour King. As far as Madge was concerned, Bess made a colossal social faux pas in marrying Truman.

Truman could not afford a home for his wife Bess and daughter Margaret till he became a United States Senator. Prior thereto, he lived in his mother in law Madge's home.

Madge thought Truman would fail as a politician. Told him so repeatedly to his face. Questioned his decisions while President. Even worse, she initially questioned his qualifications to be President.

Madge hated Truman. Never thought him good enough for her daughter. Even after he became President. He was unworthy of Bess. Madge never let Truman forget the low esteem in which she held him.

She never referred to her son in law as Harry or son. Always, Mr. Truman. Even after he became President. 

She was a confirmed anti-Semite. Gave Truman repeated hell for recognizing the new State of Israel.

When Truman ran against Dewey in 1948, her opinion was that Dewey was the better man, that Dewey would trounce Truman.

She was critical with Truman firing General Douglas Mac Arthur. She thought MacArthur was ".....such a nice man." She also said she could not ".....imagine a captain from the National Guard telling off a West Point general."

Madge's husband David stepped into his bath tub one day, put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Madge could never cope following the incident. She considered her husband's suicide a scandal. She became a prisoner of shame. From that day forward, she leaned heavily on Bess to take care of her. Truman assumed the responsibility also upon his marriage to Bess.

Truman did a good job. Especially since Madge's dislike for him was obvious. When he was elected to the Senate, Madge came to Washington with the family. She and Margaret shared a bedroom in the apartment. When Truman became President, Madge moved into the White House where she had her own bedroom.

Madge died at the age of 90 in her White House bedroom. She had lived with the President and Bess for 33 years. 

During his Presidency, Truman visited Key West a total of 175 days covering eleven separate trips. Not once did Madge join him. Fortunate for the President, perhaps.

Some further Truman background is in order.

Truman was raised and lived his early adult years on a farm. Working as a farmer. The Truman family moved to Independence when the President was 6. Independence in those days was at the edge of the American frontier. Men carried knives and guns. Fistfights common.

Truman's mother taught him how to read starting at age 5. She sat him on her lap and used the family Bible as a text book..

When Truman was courting Bess, Bess' home was far different from his. Madge's family did not work with their hands. They had no debt. They did not worry about insects. A constant concern at the Truman farm home.

Truman was a good man. Obviously. An excellent President. An excellent son in law. He put up with his mother in law Madge's abuse each and every year he was courting or living as man and wife with Bess.

I came across an article listing history's six notorious mothers in law. Madge was one of them. Right next to Catherine de Medici.

Historians suggest Truman tolerated and took care of Madge out of respect for Bess. His love for her was so great that he bore Madge's insults their entire relationship.

AMAZING GRACE REVISITED

I FIRST WROTE THIS ARTICLE EIGHT YEARS AGO. THE ONE YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS ITS SIXTH PUBLICATION. AMAZING GRACE TOUCHED ME AND CONTINUES TO DO SO. THE PRESENT PUBLICATION WAS MOTIVATED BY REVEREND CLEMENTA PINCKNEY'S SERVICE AND PRESIDENT OBAMA'S EULOGY. THE PRESIDENT BEGAN SINGING AMAZING GRACE ALONE AS PART OF THE EULOGY. WITHIN SECONDS, THE ENTIRE CONGREGATION JOINED IN.

AMAZING GRACE

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

There is a story that goes with these beautiful words and the song from whence they came. It starts with slavery.

Most are unaware that the Founding Fathers dealt with the issue of the importation of slaves to the United States in the Constitution. Article I, section 9, stated in effect that the government could not ban the importation of slaves for at least 20 years.

Why such was placed in the original Constitution is not certain. I suspect that the Founding Fathers, most of whom were slave owners, were of the opinion that twenty years would give them enough time to propagate additional slaves. Since slaves had a significant monetary value and one's worth was often measured by slaves owned, it made sense that there had to be a time when no more would be permitted entry to the United States. An overabundance of slaves could conceivably diminish the value of each slave.

Twenty years passed. The Congress could not wait to pass a law banning further importation of slaves to the United States. They did it one year early in 1807. Thomas Jefferson was President at the time. He is also considered the Father of the Constitution. He supported the proposed law and did not hesitate in signing it. The law went into effect January 1, 1808.

From that day forward, the United States Navy was on the lookout for any ships that were attempting to bring new slaves to American shores. The Navy was kept busy. Slavery was a big business. It took till 1862 for the Navy to finally eradicate the problem.

Although the final three slave ships were captured in 1862 when the Civil War was already two years old, their capture had nothing to do with the Civil War. It was the result of continued enforcement of the 1808 law.

The last three ships captured were the William, Bogota and Wildfire.

The demand for new slaves was overwhelming in the 1700s and first half of the 1800s. They were needed for work in North and South America. It is estimated some twelve million were imported during those years.

Cuba was in need of great numbers of slaves. The sugar fields needed workers. It is estimated at least 100,000 slaves were delivered from West Africa to Cuba.

Slaves had to be replenished. Most of the slaves delivered were young. Teenagers. They did not live long. They were literally worked to death. The need to replenish drove the slave industry.

John Newton was a slave trader. A bad guy in his early years. Very bad. Mean. He was known by people acquainted with him as a despicable person.

On one of the trips across the ocean, Newton and his ship engaged a violent storm. Newton thought he was going to die. He learned to pray. He asked God to save him. God did.

Newton continued as a slave trader for a few years. However, his conscience was now bothering him. He quit his chosen profession and went to theology school. Newton became a minister.

In 1779, Newton wrote Amazing Grace. Not as a musical piece. Not as a song. But rather, a poem.His congregation would recite, not sing, the words at services.

The poem continued to 1835. At that time, someone put it to music. There was an English tune New Britain. It became the melody for Amazing Grace.

Prior to the 1960s, Amazing Grace had no particular popularity. Except in the black churches. It became a song of hope and redemption. An African American spiritual.

Then came the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The marches, the boycotts, the assassinations. Amazing Grace gained national prominence and popularity during that era.

It also became a top selling recording.

Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley and Tennessee Williams all recorded it. So did Althea Franklin and Judy Collins. And most recently, Susan Boyle.

Amazing Grace's history began with the United States Constitution, the law of 1808, John Newton finding God, someone putting the words to music and finally the civil rights movement.

Today the hymn is sung everywhere. Both for the living and the dead. Warm and uplifting.

THE DOOLITTLE RAID

Today, a step back in history.

 

I am 78. I have found that many younger than me do not have an awareness of history. They know neither names nor places. I  assumed one learned history in school. I am beginning to think it is not taught with the same attention to detail as in the past. On the other hand, perhaps it is the individual himself who may not care to know or remember.

 

It bothers me. One reason is because we learn from history. History does repeat itself. Another reason is because historical fact on occasion can impress one with a sense of pride..... Look what my country did!

 

I share with you the Doolittle Raid.

 

It was early 1942. Pearl Harbor had occurred on December 7, 1941. The American people were despondent. The Japanese started World War II with a bang and were experiencing continued success. We were getting our asses kicked. Guam, Wake Island, Singapore and Hong Kong had fallen. The Philippines were close to being lost. American soldiers were making a valiant stand at Corregidor. They shortly would lose. Survivors would then participate in the Bataan Death March following which they would spend four years as Japanese prisoners of war.

 

American morale was at a low ebb. Japanese confidence high. President Roosevelt sensed it. He called his military team together and said come up with a plan to bomb Japan.

 

The Doolittle Raid was that plan.

 

The Raid is named after its leader, Jimmy Doolittle. A lieutenant colonel at the time. Prior to the War, Doolittle had been a famous civilian aviator and aeronautical engineer.

 

Navy Captain Francis Low was of the opinion that bombers could fly off of a carrier and bomb Japan. It was the only way American bombers at the time could reach Japan.

 

Doolittle was given the task of carrying out such a mission. It was decided the plane to be used was the B-25, a middle class bomber. Eighty volunteers were sought. All they were told was that they were volunteering for an "extremely dangerous mission." They would not learn of their mission till they and their bomber planes were on a carrier and on the way to Japan.

 

Training took only three weeks. Lines were painted on a runway which exactly set forth the length of a carrier. Repeated landings were made till the 80 were proficient in taking off within a very limited space. No bomber had ever flown off a carrier before. The bombers too large and a carrier too small.

 

The USS Hornet was the the designated carrier. The Hornet would carry the planes and men till they were a certain distance from Japan. The planes would then take off and bomb Tokyo and other places. Thereafter, the planes would fly to selected landing sites in China. China was part free and part Japanese occupied at the time.

 

Six hundred miles off the coast of Japan, the Hornet was sighted by a small Japanese patrol boat. The Hornet sunk the boat. However, there was no certainty whether the boat had had time to radio Tokyo of the existence of the Hornet.

 

Doolittle therefore decided that the bombers had to take off immediately. The Hornet was still 170 miles from the designated take off spot. Which meant, the planes would have that much less fuel to get to China.

 

The men were undaunted. Bombing Tokyo was their primary consideration. Not whether they would safely make It to a Chinese landing field.

 

The bombers had been stripped of any extra weight. Stripped literally to the bone. Including guns. Only 2-3 guns were permitted. The rest too heavy. They would cause a plane to would burn too much fuel. In their place were erected broom handles painted black to fool enemy planes. Whereas the B-25 had been configured to carry 646 gallons of fuel, the strip down version permitted the planes to carry 1,141 gallons.

 

Each plane carried only four bombs. Three 500 pound bombs and one incendiary bomb. Weight was the consideration here also. The fewer and lighter the bombs, the less fuel required to carry them to Japan.

 

The object of the mission was more mental than physical. The purpose was to show the enemy that they were not invulnerable to attack. That what happened to the United States at Pearl Harbor could happen to them on their homeland.

 

Normally bomber flights have a fighter plane escort. Not these planes. Where were the fighter planes to come from? Again, too far.

 

The bombers flew wave height to avoid discovery.

 

The 16 bombers reached Japan. Tokyo and surrounding cities were bombed. There was little significant damage. However, the enemy know knew they were vulnerable. With vulnerability came fear.

 

None of the planes had sufficient fuel to reach the Chinese air bases. Fifteen crash landed or the crews bailed out. One plane made it to Russia. Two crews bailed out over Tokyo. Of those who bailed out over Tokyo, two were shot by a firing squad. The remainder imprisoned for the balance of the war. Some died of malnutrition while so imprisoned.

 

Sixty nine escaped capture or death. Many, including Doolittle, made it out of China with the help of the Chinese people.

 

The Chinese were made to pay a dear price for their assistance. It has been reliably reported that 250,000 were killed by the Japanese in an attempt to capture crew members or punish those Chinese who assisted them. The Japanese retaliation included germ warfare.

 

Doolittle was convinced the mission was a failure. He had lost all 16 planes and the damage done to Japan was minimal . He was wrong. He was welcomed home as a conquering hero by Roosevelt and the American people. Roosevelt immediately made him a Brigadier General, jumping him over the Colonel rank. He also awarded Doolittle the Congressional Medal of Honor.

 

Some interesting tidbits.

 

Five crew members were jailed in Japan. One died of starvation. The other four claim they received comfort from the lone copy of a Bible they had. They read it every day.

 

One crew member was killed when he bailed out over China. He was buried by the Rev. John M.Bircher, a Chinese missionary. Bircher is the same Bircher after whom The John Birch Society was named many years later. Bircher also personally assisted Doolittle and his crew and helped them escape China.

 

One crew member was Jacob DeShazer. He returned to China in 1948 and served there as a missionary for thirty years.

 

Each member of the Doolittle Raid were forever considered heroes.

 

Doolittle arranged for a yearly gathering of the survivors. A cognac toast was drunk to those departed. There was a special bottle of cognac provided by Doolittle. It had been bottled the year of his birth. It was intended to be drunk in toast by the last two survivors.

 

The years have passed. There are now four of these men left. They enjoyed their last reunion last week in Dayton, Ohio. Three could make it. The fourth was too ill to travel. All four are in their nineties.

 

The four decided not to wait till their number was down to two. There might never be two remaining. They opened that special bottle of cognac last week and drank a toast to their Raid brothers departed.

 

Hollywood made several movies surrounding the event. The best from my perspective was Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. The movie starred Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson. Even the movie was a long time ago. Tracy played Doolittle.

 

A true to life story. A moment of great pride in American history. An event every one should know.