Hawaii was the destination of a month-long family holiday in 1953, offering Harry S. Truman, Bess Truman, and Margaret Truman Daniel a vivid change of scene after the presidency. The trip brought Truman an enthusiastic welcome and opportunities to tour the islands, while its unhurried swimming, reading, and rest made it one of the family’s most enchanting experiences.

The Journey to the Islands

At the end of March, the Trumans traveled first to San Francisco, where Averell Harriman hosted them in his private railroad car. From there they sailed aboard the President Cleveland, passing down the bay and out beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Truman’s account of their arrival off Oahu gathers the island landscape into a single view: “Diamond Head and then Honolulu with the Pali in the background, rainbows, clouds, sunshine and a beautiful city all in one scene.”

The family stayed for a month as guests of Ed Pauley at his estate on Coconut Island, in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu’s windward side. Hawaii was “Paradise” to Truman, and the visit was more than a brief stop: the estate served as the family’s base for a sustained holiday and island excursions.

Public Welcome and Island Tours

Truman had long supported statehood for the islands. When the ship landed, government and military officials, members of the press, and a dozen reception committees came aboard to escort him ashore. He recalled that they “covered us with leis and smothered us with questions and flash bulbs.” The welcome made his public standing in the islands part of the visit, alongside its private character as a family vacation.

He accepted an honorary degree at the University of Hawaii and toured Oahu. On a flying visit to the Big Island aboard a Navy C-47, he soared over the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. On the return flight to Oahu, he spotted a school of whales off Maui; the Navy pilots told him that the sight meant good luck.

A Month of Rest and the Return Home

Between official engagements and excursions, Truman swam, loafed, and read, enjoying what he called “the wonderful people” of the islands. The month gave the family time to relax as well as to travel, and Truman later described the experience as one of the most enchanting of their lives.

When the holiday ended, the family returned to their home on North Delaware Street. The contrast was immediate: after a month in Hawaii, the house again seemed quiet and too big. The trip thus closed not with a change in Truman’s domestic circumstances, but with the renewed stillness of home after an unusually expansive family escape.