Honoring a veteran
Truman H. Landon
In recognition of Veterans Day, the Nodaway County Historical Society Museum is proud to honor a member of its Stairway of Stars and local veteran, Truman Landon.
Truman Hempel Landon was born on Feb. 11, 1905, in Maryville to Perry and Helene Landon. Landon’s family later moved to Carlinville, Illinois, where he graduated from high school in 1922. After attending Blackburn College, he attended West Point from 1924 to 1928. Upon graduation, he was promoted to second lieutenant. Between 1928 and 1930, Landon went through advanced flight training at Kelly Air Field in Texas. Landon went on to be a flight instructor in the Panama Canal Zone until 1939 when he was made the commander of the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron.
After being put in command of the 38th, Landon took part in one of the first flights of B-17s to Hickam Field in Hawaii in early 1941. On Dec. 7, 1941, Landon was on such a flight to Hickam when he flew right into the ongoing attack on Pearl Harbor. Because of this, he was unable to land his aircraft, which was unarmed and low on fuel — both due to his 14-hour long trip from California. With few options, Landon chose to continue his path and land on the smoke-covered Hickam Field during the assault. He was later honored with a Silver Star medal for courage. This event would later be dramatized in the famous movie “Tora! Tora! Tora!” where Landon is portrayed by Norman Alden.
During the Second World War, Landon held many positions of seniority across the Pacific front, starting as the assistant chief of staff at Hickam Field and then being the assistant chief of operations and training at Fort George, Washington. In 1943, he became commanding officer and then commanding general of the 7th Bomber Command, which operated from Hickam Field and Funafuti, Tarawa and Kwajalein Atolls, and finally the island of Saipan. After the war, Landon studied and then taught at the Army and Navy Staff College. He then worked at the Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C., in multiple positions. Between 1951 and 1958, Landon worked overseas in Europe and the Caribbean as Commander of U.S. Air Force in both regions. Landon was promoted to four-star general on June 28,1961, and he continued to work in the Air Force until retiring on July 1,1963. More than two decades later, on Jan. 27, 1986, Truman Landon died at age 80 in San Antonio, Texas. He is a man with a great legacy, and the NCHS Museum is proud to honor him here in Maryville.
Visit the NCHS Museum at 110 N. Walnut St. to learn more about the history of Nodaway County, including the region’s military history. We have an extensive military history display on the second floor of the museum.
The museum is open March to December on Tuesdays to Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. and on the second Saturdays of each month from 9 to 11 a.m.
We also host monthly programs that are free to the public. Our next event is an important fundraiser for the museum. Please join us for a soup lunch, which will feature a wide array of homemade soups at a cost of $10 a person. We also have several exciting events in December, including an open house for visitors to explore the historic Caleb Burns house on Dec. 1 between noon and 4 p.m.
Learn more about the museum’s work on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] or 660-582-8176.
