McCluer was the president of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and he needed a speaker of prominence for the college's annual Green Foundation lecture, as was required by the college's endowment. Learning that Churchill planned to visit the United States, he extended an invitation along with the promise of an honorary degree.
In order to give the invitation more weight, McCluer used an intermediary to pass it first by fellow Missourian Harry Truman, the President of the United States. Truman read the invitation and gave it his imprimatur, scrawling at the bottom, "This is a wonderful college in my home state. Hope you can do it. I'll introduce you." The letter was then forwarded to Churchill, who wrote back saying that he would indeed come and that he could be assured that with Truman there, any remarks he made would have more heft.
A simple invitation and a simple award ceremony. It happens all the time, in colleges all over the country. Yet there has seldom been an award ceremony quite like this.
Shortly after McCluer's invitation, Churchill met Truman in Washington, and the two men, accompanied by Truman's retinue, traveled by train out into the heartland, where on the afternoon of March 5, much of the little town of Fulton turned out to welcome its distinguished guest. Churchill and Truman sat in the back of an open car that was flanked by several Secret Service officers, or, as one observer called them "G-Men." This same observer, Scott Porter, took a rare color photograph of the parade.
Churchill and Truman arrived at the Westminster campus and congregated in the school's gymnasium. The turnout was huge, with some reporting at least 40,000 in attendance, counting all those listening by loudspeaker.
President McCluer spoke first and introduced Truman, who in turn went on to introduce Churchill. As he rose to speak, no doubt many sensed that they were witnessing a momentous occasion. It actually turned out to be an historic one.
The former Prime Minister began by thanking his hosts and noting how appropriate it was that the name of the college was Westminster, for he had received much of his education in an institution with the same name. (By this, of course, he meant the Palace of Westminster, which contains the British Houses of Parliament.)
