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| Local Democrats gather for annual Truman dinner |
By: John Brannon Messenger Staff Reporter
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Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009 9:15 pm
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By JOHN BRANNON
Messenger Staff Reporter
Two of northwest Tennessee’s elected officials — state Rep. Judy Barker and state Sen. Roy Herron — were guest speakers at a Truman Day dinner Thursday evening at Hampton Centré in Union City.
The dinner, sponsored by the Obion County Democratic Party, came a day after Veterans Day 2009. Veterans and their contributions to the nation were among the topics mentioned to a crowd of 200 gathered in a spacious meeting room.
“What is this Truman Day dinner about?” Mrs. Barker asked rhetorically. “Obviously we are here to honor (the late) President Harry S Truman.”
On April 12, 1945, Truman had been vice president only 83 days when President Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly in Warm Springs, Ga.
Truman was a former Missouri judge, commander of a U.S. Army artillery unit in Europe in World War I, and U.S. senator before being elected vice president. With Roosevelt’s passing, Truman became the nation’s 33rd president.
“For the first five months in office, he had to make monumental decisions,” Mrs. Barker said. “There were key events that changed history that occurred during the first few months of his presidency.”
Truman is perhaps best known for his tough decisions — he authorized U.S. forces to drop A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 to force Imperial Japan to surrender — and tough talk — “The buck stops here.”
“We as Tennesseans are very patriotic,” Mrs. Barker continued. “I had the privilege to spend yesterday (Veterans Day) with veterans, their spouses and families. I sat and talked with World War II veterans and from other wars, up to the mothers of sons now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I told them as state representative, from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate their service. It is because of their courage and bloodshed that I am (able to) stand here before you today. They saved our democracy. They saved the United States of America.”
Herron, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor in the upcoming 2010 elections, shared his memories of his father, a World War II veteran who was seriously wounded in action. He told of how his father spent weeks recuperating in two hospitals and that when at last he returned to his native Dresden, he literally kissed the ground.
“He went from hospital bed to wheelchair to crutches, to two canes, then one cane. By the end of his life he was walking with special shoes. I know what he went through,” Herron said.
“I know the only other person I admire as much and maybe even more than him was the woman who welcomed him home and struggled through his pain after the war.
“I know from whence we come, and your family has stories like that, too. Your family has stories of loved ones who fought when freedom needed defending and people needed protecting. ... Women and men who cared for generations and made possible your generation.”
Other voices
Other special guests at the dinner were Chip Forrester, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, and the representatives of two candidates for governor unable to attend the dinner.
Paige (Burcham) Carlton, chairman of the Obion County Democratic Party, said the fact that major candidates for governor participated in the dinner “is a testament to how important West Tennessee and Obion County are to the election of the next governor.”
The dinner, she said, was not a political rally, but “a gathering of Democrats and others who take political interest in West Tennessee.”
Two special awards were presented by the Obion County Democratic Party during the evening program.
Jennifer Haskell, vice chairman of the local Democratic Party, was presented the Dedicated Democrat award. It is awarded in memory of the late Pam Nailling.
Dave Frankum of Union City was awarded the Democratic Spirit Award.
Sunday School
“I teach a Sunday School class to 40 seniors. I’ve taught it nine or 10 years,” Mrs. Barker told the gathering. “That class has taught me more than I could ever teach them. The lesson that keeps continuing throughout the year in this Sunday School class is that when I meet my Creator, I will be judged on how I treated my fellow man.
“This is the essence of tonight. Look around this room. You are the public servants. You are the community leaders. You know how we will be judged.
“There is a spirit that dwells within each of us. It is a spirit that we have as Tennesseans, it’s a spirit that we have as the Democratic Party, it’s a spirit of volunteerism, a spirit that keeps us going, that keeps telling us that we know we can make a difference.”
Published in The Messenger 11.16.09 |
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