Speech of Senator Harry S. Truman at George Washington Post #1, The American Legion

SPEECE DELIVERED AT GEORGE WASHINOTON POST n. THE AMERICAN LEGION, WASHINGTON, D. C., Merch 7. 1938, By Release on SENATOR HARICI Delivery. 3. COP It is a great pleesure to be with you this evening, and I appreciste the privilege. It ie a high honor to appest before the very first organ- ization of veterens of the World War. Your esuous wes before the one in Paris which insugurated the American Legion, and your Post hnd elected officers before the St. Louis Convention in May which really was the actual stert of the Legion. The preliminary draft of the Grant Preamble was presented to the St. Louis Convention by Colonel Jones, Chairmen of your delegation. You heve Woodrow Wilson, Foch and Pershing on your membership rolls. That alone would make you the moat femous Legion Post. While I em only pinch-hitting for my Colleague, Honorable Bennett Champ Clark, the Chairman of the Peris cauque end by action of the Philedelphia Convention in 1926 e Past Commander of the Legion because he so acted, I em most happy and pleased to be here. I am going to discuss with you, for a few minutes, national defense end its relationship to peace. We ara a pesco-loving nation, end all of us hate the very thought of war. None of us wents to see enother World War in which we are likely to be involved; particulerly those of ua who were in the last one. But wa must not close our eyea to the possibility of another war, because conditions in Hurope have developed to a point likely to cause an explosion at any time. We selebrated tha twentieth anniversary of our entrance into the last war preaching ageinst another wer, and hoping for continued peace. I was at the White House for dinner that evening, as was Admirel Byrd. He and the First Ledy mede addresses over the redio, which were brondcast from the White House in the interest of peace and our staying out of war. We all want peace, TRUMAN and we all want to stay out of war, but we nust go about it intelligently. US NARA