Missouri County Banners
After the conclusion of World War I, citizens of Missouri sought to memorialize those that had served and died during the war. Counties across Missouri raised money to create Service Banners representing the servicemen and women from each county. During the 1920s, the Missouri Legislature appropriated money to match that raised by individual counties. In 1924, sixty-eight counties presented banners to the state. Over the next two decades, several more banners were presented. Today these banners reside at the Missouri State Museum in Jefferson City. The collection includes banners representing ninety-one counties plus the City of St. Louis and two state banners. Seventeen of the county banners came with extra documentation, mainly ribbons or booklets that list the names of all those who served or more often, just those who were killed in service. The collection also contains thirty-three regimental flags from World War I, including that of the 129th Field Artillery in which Captain Harry S Truman served in Battery D.
