Business Businessman. Before World War I, Truman had lost money in mining and oil investments. In 1919, he and his friend Eddie Jacobson invested their savings in a men's clothing store in Kansas City. They worked hard, keeping the store open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., but the business failed during the severe recession that began in 1921. Truman worked about 15 years to pay the store debts. Political career Discouraged by the failure of the store, …showed first 75 words of 913 total…

…showed last 75 words of 913 total…stars, and all the planets had fallen on me." The end of World War II. When Truman became President, Allied armies were winning the war in Germany, and were preparing to invade Japan. Events moved swiftly. Thirteen days after Truman took office, the first United Nations conference met in San Francisco (see San Francisco Conference). Then, on May 7, Germany surrendered. Truman proclaimed May 8 as V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day). It was his 61st birthday.