Truman’s Moral Fiber was Behind Military Appreciation Day
Armed Forces Appreciation Day was established to be commemorated on the third Saturday each May. However, America has seemingly evolved politically since the first Armed Forces Appreciation Day was celebrated on May 20, 1950. But, of all the American holidays to honor the nation’s military, the ones most widely recognized are Memorial Day and Veterans Day; however, Armed Forces Appreciation Day has grown into a month-long appreciation now known as Military Appreciation Month.
Armed Forces Appreciation Day was established during the presidency of Harry Truman, but few Americans know the dark side of this effort to honor men and women in the military. The history of Truman’s efforts behind the holiday is quite dramatic. And, it may not be a coincidence that this holiday falls in May, as Truman’s birthday is in May. Nevertheless, before his birthday in 1946, actually on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday in February, Isaac Woodard Jr., a black veteran of the United States’ Army, was forcibly removed from a bus and beaten so badly that he lost his vision for the rest of his life. He was never the same. Neither was President Truman after he learned of the incident. After Truman’s reaction, America was never the same.