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. He rallied his New Deal coalition during the 1948 presidential election and won a surprise victory that secured his own presidential term. Because he lacked the funds for college, Truman considered attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, which had no tuition, but he was refused an appointment because of poor eyesight. He enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in 1905, and served until 1911 in the Kansas City-based Battery B, 2nd Missouri Field Artillery Regiment, in which he attained the rank of corporal. He developed multiple organ failure, fell into a coma, and died at 7:50 a.m. on December 26, at the age of 88.Bess Truman opted for a simple private service at the library rather than a state funeral in Washington.