Truman tale: History comes alive with actor's visit

Peter M. Small is an educator and impersonator for historic personalities. He entered the Elison Independent senior living facility in suburban Lake Worth with a wide smile. He began his hour-long performance in the 33rd President of the United States. He was dressed in a matching gabardine suit with double breasts and a white shirt, with a maroon bow tie. "I could not qualify for West Point after I graduated high school prior to World War I due to my poor eyesight." I joined the Missouri National Guard, and I worked as a bank clerk for ten years," he stated, in character. Truman's National Guard unit was activated when World War I began. Eddie Jacobson was a Kansan friend. They planned to open a haberdashery shop after the war. Truman became a U.S. senator after World War I. Truman was also nominated for vice president under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the Democratic convention in July 1944. Soon afterward, Secretary Henry Stimson, Secretary of War, took Truman aside and informed him that the U.S. had atomic bombs. Truman was advised by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to end the war against Japan. This would result in the death of 500,000 American soldiers as well as the deaths of millions of Japanese. Truman made a public request to Japan for an unconditional, immediate surrender. Japan did not respond. Truman ordered the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman said that Small did not regret the decision and didn't lose sleep over it. Small, a Fullerton resident, is one of the Living Legends, a group that reenacts historical events at schools, fraternal groups, conventions and civic groups. After listening to H.V., Truman returned to Independence, Missouri to go to bed at 6:30 a.m. on Election Day. Radio news reported that Truman was ahead of 2 million votes when he woke up in the morning. His Secret Service detail was notified to bring him back to Kansas City. He said, "Your dad will not be counted amongst the greats, but you can be certain he did his best," Andrew Regnery, a resident, said that the audience was captivated by Small's talk and dress as well as Truman's story. "I gained more respect for the humanity, leadership and courage of this American. Visit history-alive.com and email EMAIL.