After
President Woodrow Wilson signed the declaration of war in 1917 against Germany
and Austria-Hungary; Harry R. Truman enlisted into the U.S. Army reporting to
Camp Lewis (Washington State) for basic training. An ambitious young man whom soon gain recognition
for his knowledge of various skills of hand tools and machinery. Sergeant Speers
appointed Harry as the barracks leader.
After basic
training, Harry was given an opportunity to work on airplanes as a mechanic, at
a time when few men had ever seen an airplane. I can only imagine that the
planes at Camp Lewis were probably manufactured in Seattle from "The Boeing Airplane
Company." The Boeing Company assisted the Army by giving instructive courses
to their aircraft mechanics. Harry would have undoubtedly received an excellent education.
Harry had a
knack of natural ability, and soon proved himself as a superior mechanic. From
his own memory, one of his early experiences was with a plane that would not run
properly. He checked all the parts on the engine, all appeared to be as it
should be, so Harry thought maybe the problem was the fuel that was being
supplied. So Harry formulated his own gasoline by mixing the gas with alcohol
and a liquid solvent called Ether. The result was fantastic, the airplane was
now running like a perfectly tuned engine.
Harry's
Sergeant had a knack of taking credit for other peoples work, so when Sergeant
Speers demanded that Harry give him this formula. Harry reluctantly gave it to
him, but decided that Sergeant Speers should have his own unique formula so
Harry made it richer or more volatile; which meant that it would have a much faster
burn rate. Fortunately, Harry was shipped out of Camp Lewis before Sergeant
Speers had the opportunity to try it out on his Captain's ailing car. The
explosion which resulted did nothing to secure the Sergeant a promotion.
On January
23rd, 1918 Harry finally arrives at his embarkation point, Hoboken New York,
where he boards the S.S. Tuscania for his voyage to Europe. On the twelfth day at
sea his transport, the Tuscania, was hit by a torpedo from a nearby lurking
German submarine. It was the first time an American Troopship was torpedoed on
the way to Europe. The loss of life was staggering, 200 soldiers lost, 15 of
those were from Harry's squadron.
Harry was
rescued by a British Destroyer and taken to Ireland. From there he went to
Scotland, England, and then onto France. Soon he was at work as an aircraft
mechanic not to far from the front lines of enemy territory. He introduced his
special formula, the fuel mixture that gave more pep to the planes he serviced.
Harry had earned his Master Mechanics rating, and the admiration and respect of
the other men. Harry was harden by the fact that the pilots of these planes
didn't always come back. The average life expectancy rate of a pilot in the
First World War was about two weeks.
On one of
the test flights he made, to test some mechanical adjustments, his plane was
attacked by a German fighter, the hail of bullets managed to damage his plane
but Harry escaped without injury. A little
shaken by that experience, Harry always carried a hand gun on future flights,
and once, he claimed that he scored a hit on a German plane.
Harry
Truman was truly a man whom had strong characteristics of a brave and noble man.
He is a man whom has looked deep into the eyes of death many times, and yet
never cowered. He was a man of raw grit, and when in the face of danger, he
expressed himself by cussing and becoming the temperamental bulldog; which proved
to be an effective defensive mechanism. In MAY of 1980, Harry Truman would again
play a prominent role in a tragic event that would catapult his name across the
globe. His lodge which was on Spirit Lake, in Washington State, was at the base
of Mt. St. Helens. The Mountain awoke that May, and scientist were 100% sure of
its impending eruption. While all residences in the immediate area were asked to
vacate for their safety, Harry refused to leave. While prominent people of
Washington State, and indeed across the country pleaded with Harry to leave the
mountain, Harry refused to. Harry didn't under estimate the mountain, he felt
the daily earth quakes, and saw what was happening to his lake and indeed to the
wild life in the area. No, running away from danger was just not Harry, he was a
man whom always stood his ground in the face of danger. On May 18, 1980 Mt. St.
Helens erupted with a fiery, and unfortunately Harry and his lodge were never
seen again.
