<P> As a result of his defiant commentary, Truman became something of a "folk hero" and from March until May, was the subject of many songs and poems by children . One group of children from Salem, Oregon, sent him banners inscribed "Harry - We Love You", which moved him so much that he took a helicopter trip, paid for by National Geographic, to visit them on May 14 . Truman also received many fan letters, including several marriage proposals . Another group of children--fifth graders from the city of Grand Blanc in Michigan--wrote Truman letters that brought him to tears . In return, he sent them a letter and volcanic ash, which the students later sold to buy flowers to send to Truman's family after the eruption . </P> <P> He attracted media frenzy, appearing on the front page of The New York Times and The San Francisco Examiner and garnering the attention of National Geographic, United Press International, and The Today Show . Many major magazines composed profiles for Truman, including Time, Life, Newsweek, Field & Stream, and Reader's Digest . Historian Richard W. Slatta wrote that "few people would describe (Truman) as heroic," but "his fiery attitude, brash speech, love of the outdoors, and fierce independence (...) made him a folk hero the media could adore ." Analyzing Truman's rise to fame, Slatta cited "his unbendable character and response to the forces of nature", and he explained that interviews with Truman became critical "to add color" to reports about the events at Mount St. Helens . As the only figure from the story recognizable on a national scale, Truman, he wrote, was "immortalized (...) as a figure with many of the embellished qualities of the western hero", and was "preserved by the national spotlight (...) in a romanticized form (...) in some ways quite different from his true character ." </P> <P> Over the course of the spring, as St. Helens progressively grew more likely to erupt, state officials tried to evacuate the area with the exception of a few scientists and security officials . On May 17, they attempted one final time to persuade Truman to leave, to no avail . The next morning, the volcano erupted, its entire northern flank collapsing . Truman was alone at his lodge, where he lived with 16 cats, when he is presumed to have died in the eruption on May 18 . A pyroclastic flow engulfed the Spirit Lake area, destroying the lake and burying the site of his lodge under 150 feet (50 m) of volcanic landslide debris . Authorities never found Truman's remains . Truman's 16 cats, which he considered family and mentioned in almost all public statements he made, are presumed to have died with him on the day of the eruption . At the time of his death, Truman had operated the Mount St. Helens lodge for 52 years . </P> <P> Friends hoped that Truman might have survived, as he had claimed to have provisioned an abandoned mine shaft with food and liquor in case of an eruption from Mount St. Helens . But the lack of warning of the incoming eruption likely prevented him from escaping to the shaft before the pyroclastic flow reached his lodge . His sister Geraldine expressed that she found it hard to accept the reality of his death, commenting, "I don't think he made it . But I thought if they would let me fly over and see for myself that Harry's lodge is gone, then maybe I'd believe it for sure ." Reflecting on the eruption's 20 - year anniversary, Truman's niece Shirley Rosen added that he thought he could escape the volcano, not expecting the lateral eruption . She stated that her sister brought Truman a bottle of Bourbon whiskey to convince him to evacuate, but he was too afraid to drink alcohol because he was unsure whether the shaking was coming from his body or the earthquakes from St. Helens . His possessions were auctioned off as keepsakes to admirers in September . </P>

Who died in the mount st helens eruption