Worley portrays late President Truman

American President Harry Truman, who gave the orders for the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, “paid a visit” to the American Memorial Park Thursday evening this week to explain his role in history and the several challenges he faced as a wartime president.

In a Chautaqua performance, Dr. William Worley, a history teacher at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, took on the persona of the late president and gave a presentation at the American Memorial Park Amphitheatre as part of events lined up for the 60th commemoration of the World War II Battles for Saipan and Tinian.

As Truman, Worley discussed the several issues that he and the Democratic Central Committee faced, the “Truman Committee,” the continuance of the Manhattan Project, and other concerns facing the president during World War II.

Worley told the crowd why it is of great importance to have a representative of the late president on hand for the 60th commemoration. He said that, although Truman was not president at the time of the Battle on Saipan, “the events that unfolded as a result of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian and the atomic bomb was brought to his attention by the time he was president. So it was appropriate for someone representing him to be here this week and I’m pleased and honored that it was me.”

Though the presentation drew only a small crowd, Worley said he was pleased to see the crowd asking questions about the president.

“The questions from this evening were excellent. These are people who know and have studied many aspects of the situation and of course the bomb is one of those things that dominate and it should, especially in this setting. This was a very informed crowd, I was quiet impressed,” said Worley.

Joining Worley were his wife, Katherine Worley, Humanities Council board chair Herman Guerrero, and Humanities Council executive director Isaac Magofna.

Worley has been doing historical characterizations for about 10 year in the Kansas City, Missouri area and in the state of Kansas. Under the Kansas Humanities Council, Worley has taken on the character of Truman for five years as a result of his research on the late president.

“It was the connection of the Humanities Council that led to a communication from the Northern Marianas Humanities Council to the Kansas Humanities Council and they referred it to me since they knew that I had done Truman,” said Worley. “However, I’m not actively doing him [Truman] at the present but I have done so in the past, which led to my coming here and I’m extremely pleased about that.”

Worley said that the characters he portrays are related to the Kansas City area. President Harry Truman is the only President of the United States from Kansas. “Of course, he’s our favorite son,” said Worley.