KANSAS CITY, MO.--June 10--Ozark Airlines today began preparations for a special flight which will whisk former President Harry S Truman to Boston to receive his long-awaited honorary degree from Harvard University.
After a limosine ride form his home in nearby Independence, Truman, accompanied by his wife Bess, will take off from Kansas City Municipal Airport aboard an Ozark jet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (Central Daylight Time), sources reported. Some two hours later, he will land in Boston, in time to get a good night's sleep before receiving his degree from Harvard on Thursday morning.
[In Cambridge, the Harvard Faculty Club also prepared for Truman's visit, setting aside a special suite for the 84-year-old ex-President. Reports that the club had also laid in a supply of "Old Stewart" bourbon (distilled in Bolivar, Mo.) were denied, as a spokesman explained that Truman, because of his advanced age, is no longer able to indulge.]
Independence has taken the news of Truman's honor calmly, though citizens here realize how much the degree means to "Our President," as they are fond of calling him. The only formal ceremony planned here is, however, an honor guard which will salute Truman as he boards the jet, and again when he returns from Boston, probably on Friday morning.
The honor guard will be composed of the nine surviving members of the Missouri National Guard company which Truman commanded in World War I
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