Harry Truman’s spirit of public service lives on today in the fight against COVID-19
Over the past few months, Americans have come to learn acutely the names of public servants such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, and Dr. Amy Acton, the head of Ohio’s Department of Health. They’ve become more familiar with their governors, mayors and local county public health department heads. The people who often would fade into the background and largely avoid the political arena have instead become lifelines of information, both reassuring a worried nation and reaffirming the need to stay home, social distance, and stop the spread of a disease that has already claimed over 120,000 lives nationwide.
In times of crisis and in peace, these public servants are critical to our way of life. While most of us are just beginning to understand their value, one man believed above all else in the value of education and nurturing the next generation of leaders to serve our country. President Harry S. Truman, my grandfather, believed that, “Without a strong educational system democracy is crippled. Knowledge is not only key to power. It is the citadel of human freedom.”
Today I am both humbled and honored to know that America’s public servants are living monuments to President Truman. For other presidents, we’ve built museums, preserved birthplaces, erected statues and carved into granite mountainsides.
Grandpa was not a man who wanted his legacy preserved in stone. Instead, in 1975, Congress created the Harry S. Truman Foundation to identify students with a track record of public service and the vision to find new ways to lift up their communities. Today, it may well be the most inspiring federal agency many Americans have never heard of. Truman Scholars hail from every state in the nation. As you read, they are hard at work. They are Republicans and Democrats, and they know how to get things done for the American people by working together.
Each spring, the Truman Foundation identifies roughly 60 college juniors to support their graduate school pursuits and offer leadership training. However, as the saying goes, “Once a Truman Scholar, always a Truman Scholar.” These 3,300 Americans are the “living memorials” who have dedicated their lives to research, public policy, city and municipal government, and countless other professions that serve a foundational role in our society. Today, they are on the front lines of the response to the coronavirus.
In King County, Washington, the first recognized hot spot for a COVID-19 outbreak, 1978 Truman Scholar Dwight Dively continues to lead his community through a tumultuous and economically devastating challenge. As King County’s chief operating officer, he’s offered budget guidance and advocated for further funding for the enormous public health response necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003 Truman Scholar Ginny Bowen is an epidemiologist and U.S. Public Health Service officer who has already completed two COVID-19 deployments. Kentucky Secretary of Agriculture Ryan Quarles, a 2005 Truman Scholar, has responded to how the crisis has threatened the U.S. food supply and is responding to challenges faced by Kentucky crop farmers and cattle ranchers. And there are many more in their ranks.
For those who were awarded the Truman Scholarship this April, countless summer plans, leadership training opportunities and community events have been canceled or put on hold. Yet that hasn’t stopped these Truman Scholars from continuing to make a difference in their communities. Brianna Bull Shows, a Montana State University student, continues to pursue medicine and focus on Native American health at a time when tribes are facing disproportionate outbreaks of COVID-19 accelerated by poor public health conditions. James Ward is on active duty with the Navy on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, while Maryland’s Aryemis Brown steps up to the leadership challenge as Cadet Wing Commander for the U.S. Air Force Academy’s 4,000-member Cadet Wing. Rodrigo Estrada is an American Red Cross leader serving in the Texan fronterizo, or border region. Anna Williams, a Marshall University student in Huntington, West Virginia, has been working to address food insecurity for college students, which has been greatly exacerbated as students have been forced to leave campus.
And you don’t have to be a Truman Scholar to make an impact in your community. Neighbors across the country are picking up groceries for elderly neighbors, sewing cloth masks for essential workers, stepping up to become contact tracers to quickly respond to new outbreaks and finding new ways to connect in a time of social distance.
These people teach us about the legacy of my grandfather in ways a physical monument never could. To serve one another is among the highest pursuits in our nation. When the dust settles, we must remember the people that stood up to help, who guided our communities through the chaos and devastation caused by this virus, and committed to renewal of public service.
Clifton Truman Daniel is the oldest grandson of President Harry S. Truman. He is the author of “Growing Up With My Grandfather: Memories of Harry S. Truman” and “Dear Harry, Love Bess: Bess Truman’s Letters to Harry Truman, 1919-1943.”
This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Harry Truman’s spirit of public service lives on today in the fight against COVID-19."