• Harry S Truman National Historic Site

    Harry S Truman

    National Historic Site Missouri

Artifact of the Month

Artifact of the Month

Military seal ring of Battery D

NPS Photo

Military Ring

Military seal ring of Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, National Guard.

After being promoted to captain, Truman took command of Battery D on July 11, 1918. The unit had such a bad reputation that Truman admitted years later that he was so scared the first time he spoke to the unit, he couldn't say a word. The men of Battery D came to respect Truman through his fair and even-handed leadership. They later became his greatest political supporters after the war.

 
 
 

Did You Know?

Harry and Bess Truman on their wedding day. Credit: Truman Library

Harry felt he should be financially sound before he proposed to Bess.  He wrote, “They say it is bad luck to buy [a wedding] ring on time [i.e., credit] or with borrowed money, hence my long wait about getting it.”