Over forty-five years ago, on March 4, 1978, priceless ceremonial swords and daggers given as gifts to President Harry S. Truman, the thirty-third president of the United States, while he was in office, were stolen from the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum in Independence, Missouri. One of those gifts, from King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, was a dagger, with a gold hilt encrusted with emeralds, rubies and diamonds, in a bejeweled scabbard.
A Little History About Where the Theft Happened
The Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum & Library opened in 1957 with a research library and galleries preserving and sharing the story of Truman’s life and time as President. This was the first Presidential library built in the United States after Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955. Under that law, privately-funded entities, with federal support, could create and operate Presidential museums.
The ground-breaking ceremony for the library and museum took place in Independence, Missouri, where Truman’s boyhood home is located, on May 8, 1955 – President Truman’s 71st birthday. According to Clay Bauske, curator at the museum and library at the time of the theft, it bothered Truman that papers of, and gifts given to, other presidents were “scattered everywhere. . . . So that is really the reason why, while he was still president, he started arrangements to create a presidential library so he could donate back to the federal government all of his papers, and gifts he had received. He actually had to literally sign a deed of gift to gift over his papers and the objects back to the federal government.”
President Truman himself worked to build the library and spent a great deal of time there until his death in 1972 – writing his memoirs, answering letters and even giving tours and speaking to students who visited. Today, his office there is one of the highlights of the museum. Truman, as well as his wife, daughter and son-in-law, are buried in the library courtyard.
How the Theft Happened
On the morning of March 24, 1978, at approximately 6:30 a.m., two thieves did a “smash and grab” theft at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. During this apparently well-planned heist, which took only about 45 seconds, the thieves broke into the museum by breaking a glass window near the front door, sounding the alarm. At the time, the security guard on duty was on the other side of the museum. The thieves then padlocked the inside door to the exhibit area to prevent the guard from reaching them, shattered the glass exhibit case in the lobby and stole three ceremonial swords and two daggers on display in that case before taking off. According to reports at the time, the thieves left no trace other than snowy footprints on the ground outside. Interestingly, there had been a break-in attempt on February 3 of that year, but the would-be thieves were scared off by a guard. To this day, no information about the two thieves or the whereabouts of the stolen items has been uncovered.
How to Identify This Missing Piece of History
As described by the National Archives, the dagger gifted by King Ibn Saud has a gold hilt with four .5 carat diamonds surrounding a 2.5 carat emerald in the pommel. The lower grip of the dagger has 15 small diamonds surrounding a 3 carat oval ruby. The scabbard for the dagger is also gold. At the scabbard’s tip is a 3 carat ruby surrounded by 12 small diamonds. Its throat has 4 rubies above an 8.5 carat rectangular emerald. Below that emerald is a 3 carat ruby surrounded by 12 small diamonds.
Why This Missing Piece of History is Important
In April 1950, the Crown Prince’s father, King Ibn Saud, was suffering from debilitating arthritis. Saudi Arabia made a request to the United States for assistance “in obtaining the immediate services of an outstanding specialist.” In response, the United States sent a medical team, including President Truman’s personal physician, Brigadier General Wallace H. Graham, to Saudi Arabia to treat the king. In gratitude, King Ibn Saud sent to President Truman the ruby, emerald and diamond-encrusted dagger and scabbard, as well as a sword with a bejeweled ivory handle and bejeweled scabbard, both of which were also stolen on March 4, 1978.
Information About Other Stolen Items
Here are descriptions of the other items stolen that morning from the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum:
Dagger, Scabbard and Belt and Two Swords from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Saud
In 1947, Crown Prince Amir Saud of Saudi Arabia came to the United States on an official visit. During that visit, he presented President Truman with a jeweled sword and dagger, both with scabbards.
The dagger, scabbard and belt were gifted to President Truman from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Saud. The dagger has a gold hilt, steel blade, and is decorated with nine diamonds on its grip. The scabbard is gold decorated with four diamonds. The belt has a gold buckle and woven gold thread.
One of the swords presented to President Truman is 38″ long, has gold grips, and a gold chain connecting the hand guard with the pommel grip and is also decorated with four diamonds. The hand guard also has a diamond. The scabbard is gold and black leather and is decorated with 15 diamonds. The gold rope and tassels shown in the photo below were not stolen.
The second sword given to President Truman by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Saud is just under 38″ long and has a curved steel blade with ivory grips and a gold decoration chain leading from the hand guard to the pommel. It has multiple diamonds and rubies on the grips and the scabbard.
Sword and Scabbard from Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran
This sword with scabbard, made primarily of silver and steel, was given to President Truman by the Shah of Iran. The exact date of the gift is not known, but it was most likely given to President Truman by the Shah, along with a large Persian Isfahan rug, in 1949 at the end of a trip to the United States by the Shah. The rug was displayed at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum until the late 1990’s.
What to Do if You Know Where These Missing Pieces of History Are
If you recognize the dagger and scabbard, or the other stolen dagger or swords, have any information about either of them, or know their whereabouts, please call us at 1-202-240-2355 or send us an email at contact@arguscpc.com. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the return of any of these national treasures.