INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) - A former history professor who has impersonated President Harry Truman more than 700 times is preparing to retire this year from his role as the 33rd president.
The first time Niel Johnson dressed up as Truman was in 1993 for a class he was teaching at Park University, The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/1TcgqzS) reports. Soon the 84-year-old Independence man was appearing as Truman up to 70 times a year, meeting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, numerous first ladies and Truman biographer David McCullough along the way.
Like the president, Johnson has a full head of thin, silvery hair, soft dimples and deep blue eyes. He said he agreed with Truman on "97 percent of the issues" and can perfectly recite lines from Truman's speeches, diaries and even love letters.
"We're really not sure if Niel Johnson is Harry Truman or if Harry Truman is Niel Johnson," said Amy Williams, the deputy director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence.
During visits, Johnson makes it his mission to shake hands with every visitor and hold press conferences so they can inquire about the presidency. Without fail, Johnson is asked about the president's decision to drop the atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The massive death toll prompted Japan's surrender. Johnson's support for the atomic bomb is much deeper than agreement. His older brother joined the Navy in June 1945 and would most likely have been on the front lines if the U.S. had invaded Japan.
"The bomb may have saved my brother's life," he said, his voice breaking a bit.
Johnson, who first saw Truman during the president's 1948 whistle-stop tour, was a professor at Augustana College, Dana College and University of Nebraska-Omaha before becoming an archivist and oral historian at the Truman library from 1977 to 1992. He was responsible for the creation of the library's oral history program, which consisted of more than 60 interviews with White House officials, Secret Service agents and neighbors who were close to Truman. Those interviews provided details and anecdotes Johnson uses for his press conferences, but also for his book "Power, Money, and Women: Words to the Wise From Harry S. Truman."
Johnson has amassed Truman memorabilia - "Vote for Truman" stickers, binders of photos, newspaper clippings - but his most valuable item appears on the cover of his book. It's a photo Johnson took of Truman at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum dedication in Iowa in 1962. He still regrets fumbling with the camera when the president walked past him.
"I wish I could have shaken his hand," said Johnson.