The kids really had no idea what to expect - they were just stopping here because: 1) I said they had to; and 2) they attend Harry S. Truman Elementary. They didn't realize that most presidents build a library to document their time as president, and for folks to learn more about the time they lead the country.
They also had no idea that the Truman's were buried there...
Or that their daughter & her husband were buried there as well.
It took a little explaining why the American Legion (actually, first, explaining what the American Legion was...) had an eternal flame memorial at the Library. That, of course led to a discussion about how you behave in such a place, and what is respectful and why. Some pretty awesome learning these kids have gotten to do!
There was so much at the library, and the kids had at most a couple of hours of attention, so we focused on the presidential years. The kids were fascinated to find out that President Truman wasn't elected (at least the first time). We spend quite a bit of time in the hall that talked about how he handled the war with Japan. Much of what was in there Kayl had heard, but hadn't really understood...
While we were having a discussion about the responsibilities that came with being President, when we came across the following display. It's a rather rude letter from the parent of a fallen soldier. That being said, we talked about how impressive it is for a leader, who could easily have thrown this away, to not only keep and display the young man's medal (in my opinion honoring the soldier), but also put the parent's letter on display (in my opinion honoring the parent & their right to grieve) for all the world to see the criticism of choices a president sometimes has to make.
Please, take the time to read the message...
While the final line is entirely uncalled for, and in my mind diminishes what they were trying to say, the mere fact that this is displayed in his Presidential Library shows just how much President Truman understood the consequences of his actions. Ending WWII, and keeping the Korean Conflict from becoming WWIII required some very unpopular choices that killed a lot of people, yet resulted in the preservation of a lot of people as well. Hard choices, tough consequences, and a President who didn't take them lightly. Impressive.
Anyway, enough soap box... Here's a pic of the kids with Harry:
And one of his cars...
After a couple hours - about the time Sean was chanting "I'm bored" and Kayl's eyes were getting glazed over from information overload - we headed over to the visitor's center and drove by the Truman family home.
By this time the kids had more than enough information to complete their 7th Junior Ranger badge (8th, if you count the Junior Paleontologist badge at Dinosaur).
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