Truman grew up in Independence, Missouri, and during World War I was sent to France as a captain in the Field Artillery. Returning home, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City, Missouri and was later elected as a Jackson County official in 1922. Truman was elected to the United States Senate from Missouri in 1934 and gained national prominence as chairman of the Truman Committee aimed at reducing waste and inefficiency in wartime contracts. The committee reportedly saved as much as $15 billion (equivalent to $210 billion in 2019), and its activities put Truman on the cover of Time magazine. According to the Senate's historical minutes, in leading the committee, 'Truman erased his earlier public image as an errand-runner for Kansas City politicos', and 'no senator ever gained greater political benefits from chairing a special investigating committee than did Missouri's Harry S.