Ralph Emerson Truman (May 10, 1880 – April 30, 1962) was an American major general who led the 35th Division of the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and Nebraska National Guards between 1938 and 1941. In addition to World War II, he served in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

as well as

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early life

Ralph E. Truman was born on May 10, 1880, in Kansas City, Missouri. His mother died before he was a year old, and his father remarried and moved to Texas with Truman's two older siblings. Before the move, Truman's father arranged for his son to be taken in by a family in Kansas City, although he was never formally adopted.

Military service

Truman enlisted in Company F, 20th U.S. Infantry, during the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

on May 21, 1898, at the age of eighteen. He was wounded on March 15, 1899. He served until May 20, 1901, reaching the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Machine Gun Company, 3rd Missouri Infantry, of the Missouri National Guard, on June 19, 1916, serving on the Mexican border during the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, US Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the para ...

from June 27, 1916 to February 28, 1917. On March 26, 1917, he was called into federal service as part of the Machine Gun Company, 4th Missouri Infantry, after the United States entered

. He served in France with the 140th Infantry Regiment of the 35th Division, being promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on January 28, 1918, to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on July 16, 1918, and to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on March 1, 1919. He was discharged on May 28, 1919. On May 5, 1921, Truman was commissioned a captain in the Missouri National Guard as plans and training officer on the staff of the 6th Missouri Infantry, later designated the 140th Infantry. He advanced to lieutenant colonel as executive officer of the 140th Infantry on January 24, 1924, and to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

as chief of staff of the 35th Division on September 22, 1932. Truman was selected as commander of the division and was commissioned a major general on October 28, 1938. In addition, he held a commission in the

Officers Reserve Corps The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...

from December 10, 1921 to April 26, 1927, reaching the rank of colonel. As part of the removal of over-age, physically unfit, or professionally unqualified officers in the U.S. Army prior to potential American involvement in World War II, Truman was relieved of his command on October 4, 1941. Rather than be assigned to an administrative position with the Second Army, General Truman chose to resign. After the U.S. entered World War II after the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

in December 1941, Truman withdrew his resignation, but was placed on the inactive list on January 15, 1942, pending a call back to active duty. He was retired for age from the Missouri National Guard upon his 64th birthday in May 1944, never having been re-ordered to active duty.

Personal life

After World War I, Truman moved to Springfield, Missouri, serving as the chief special agent for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway in southern Missouri. In 1928, he became an investigator on the National Board of Fire Underwriters and moved back to Kansas City. Truman's first wife was the former Nannie L. Watson, whom he married on July 4, 1903, in Texas. The couple had three children; a daughter, Henrietta, and two sons, Louis and Corbie. Nannie Truman died unexpectedly of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

in July 1931 at the age of fifty. The next year, Ralph remarried to the former Olive L. Johnson. The couple did not have any children, and remained married until Ralph's death on April 30, 1962, at the age of eighty-one, from a heart attack. Truman's oldest son,

Louis W. Truman Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Louis Watson Truman (June 20, 1908 – December 2, 2004) was a senior United States Army officer. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army Central, Third United States Army. ...

, graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1932 and served during World War II, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, reaching the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. He led the

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

from 1965 until his retirement in 1967. Truman’s youngest son, Corbie Ralph Truman, was also a United States Military Academy alumnus, graduating in the class of 1944. Like his older brother, he served during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, retiring as a colonel in 1971. Ralph E. Truman was a cousin of U.S. senator, vice president, and president

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

, who had also served in the 35th Infantry Division during World War I. Truman’s personal papers are located at the

Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is the Presidential library system, presidential library and resting place of Harry S. Truman, Harry S Truman, the List of presidents of the United States, 33rd president of the United States ( ...

Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...

References

External links

Generals of World War II
1880 births 1962 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of World War I Military personnel from Kansas City, Missouri Truman family United States Army generals United States Army generals of World War II United States Army personnel of World War I Burials at Springfield National Cemetery {{US-army-World-War-II-bio-stub