We remember two amazing men of the Midwest who died on this day.   

President Harry Truman died in 1972:

Truman served as president for two terms from 1945 to 1953, when he and his wife Bess happily retired to Independence, Missouri, where he referred to himself jokingly as “Mr. Citizen.” He was hospitalized on December 4, 1972, with lung congestion, heart irregularity, kidney blockages and failure of the digestive system. He died on December 26. A very subdued and private funeral, fitting for the down-to-earth Truman, was held in Independence according to his and his family’s wishes.

I remember the day that he died. I recall the news flash on the radio. It was not a surprise since Mr. Truman had been very ill for days.   

President Ford died late in the day in California in 2006. Most of his obituaries were actually published on December 27. Like me, most people did not hear about it until the next day:

Thrust by Mr. Nixon’s resignation into an office he had never sought, Mr. Ford occupied the White House for just 896 days. 

But they were pivotal days of national introspection, involving America’s first definitive failure in a war and the first resignation of a president. 

It was Mr. Ford’s uncommon virtue to have presided with a common touch.

Mr. Ford had been out of the public view for a long time. I do remember him at the 2000 GOP convention. In 2004, President Bush paid him a visit during the campaign.

As we mentioned above, VP Truman became president when President FDR died in 1945. He was not well known and it must have been quite a task to follow a political giant of the 20th century.   

Nevertheless, it was President Truman who made the decision to drop nuclear bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. He also gave us the Truman Doctrine, the CIA, NATO, the Marshall Plan and a few other things that left his footprint on U.S. history in the 20th century.

VP Ford became president when President Nixon resigned in 1974. He is the only man never elected to the office.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter defeated him in a change election. We must point out that Mr. Ford made quite a comeback that year and it ended up a lot closer than anyone predicted that summer during the conventions.  

He served about 30 months but did much to restore confidence in the presidency after Watergate.  

His pardon of Nixon was vindicated over time, a profile in courage! It was the right thing to do, as he always said when asked about it.

They were both Midwestern men, of great integrity and character.    

They also did not aspire to be president but rather took over and performed to the best of their abilities.   

And I say with a great deal of pride that President Ford was my first vote for president in 1976.

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