This is Harry S. Truman—the 33rd President of the United States. This picture was taken in France in 1918 where he served as an artillery officer and this and many other photos can be found at http://commons.wikimedia.org. Harry S. Truman failed at nearly everything he did until World War I, but somehow he kept going. His life might resemble a bit of Forest Gump in that he seemed to bumble along and be an unwilling participant in his becoming president. In David McCullough's book "Truman," his independent spirit and strength comes through loud and clear.
This next photo of Truman was taken shortly after he became Vice President of the United States. The actress is Lauren Bacall and was taken on February 10, 1945. Apparently Vice President Truman was just playing the piano, as he was known to do, when Ms. Bacall showed up posing on the piano. Truman continued playing and the photos became an international sensation. Harry S. Truman literally came from the fields of Missouri to become president. He will probably be the last President of the U.S. to ever actually come from the people. I'm just bringing Harry S. Truman up here to remind myself to read Mr. McCullough's book again! Good reading! See http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Trumano also. I'm trying to find the series "Decisions: The Conflicts of Harry S. Truman," but haven't found it yet.
