Sunday Salute XIX

 Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States of America.

From Wikipedia

"Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri, the oldest child of John Anderson Truman (1851–1914) and Martha Ellen Young Truman (1852–1947). His parents chose the name Harry after his mother's brother, Harrison "Harry" Young (1846–1916), Harry's uncle. His parents chose "S" as his middle initial to please both his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. The S did not stand for anything, which was a common practice among the Scots-Irish...

As a young boy, Truman had three main interests: music, reading, and history, all encouraged by his mother, to whom he was very close. As president, he solicited political as well as personal advice from her. He got up at five every morning to practice the piano, which he studied twice a week until he was fifteen." 

Truman was a Mason and served as Grand Master of Masons in Missouri. You can read his Masonic Record here.

He stated: "We represent a fraternity which believes in justice and truth and honorable action in your community...men who are endeavoring to be better citizens...[and] to make a great country greater. This is the only institution in the world where we can meet on the level all sorts of people who want to live rightly."

                                                                                                                       Harry S. Truman

I remember this man from my childhood.  He was president while I was growing up and I was aware of the Berlin Air Lift.  I can still remember seeing the newsreel in the movie theater showing the planes taking supplies to Berlin. I was and still am very impressed with him after he left the White House.  Returning to civilian life without a pension and determined to live to his high standards.  He remains my most admired president.

Truman Quotes:

A bureaucrat is a Democrat who holds some office that a Republican wants.

A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.

Actions are the seed of fate deeds grow into destiny.

All my life, whenever it comes time to make a decision, I make it and forget about it.

Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it.

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.

I remember when I first came to Washington. For the first six months you wonder how the hell you ever got here. For the next six months you wonder how the hell the rest of them ever got here.

I would rather have peace in the world than be President.

I've said many a time that I think the Un-American Activities Committee in the House of Representatives was the most un-American thing in America!

In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first.

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.

The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all.

I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.

More at BrainyQuotes

Previous Salutes
John Shelby Spong    Nelson Mandella     Rachael Maddow   Matt Damon  
Jehan Sadat   Jane Goodall    Mohandas Gandhi  
 Eleanor Roosevelt    Lyndon B. Johnson      Michelle Obama
Helen Hayes   Marion Wright Edelman     Bishop Gene Robinson
Bishop Desmond Tutu       Rachel Carson          Helen Keller
Martin Luther King, Jr          Dalai Lama         Dag Hammarskjold