In retirement, Truesdell was a resident of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and maintained a summer home in Silver Lake, New York.

[1] His maternal grandfather was Stephen Return Riggs[2] and his siblings included Stephen Return Truesdell, a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and civil engineer with the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company,[3][4] and Horace Warner Truesdell, a U.S. government agricultural scientist, socialist political activist, and U.S. Army captain who grew apples on a farm in Bluemont, Virginia.

[1] While in high school he was a member of Washington's YMCA Corps of Cadets, which was composed of uniformed students who took part in military drill and ceremony competitions.

[8] He quickly advanced from private to corporal to sergeant as a member of Fort Monroe, Virginia's 73rd and 74th Coast Artillery Companies.

[13][14] In August 1907, Truesdell was assigned as quartermaster and commissary officer of the 5th Infantry's 2nd Battalion and posted to Sagua La Grande during the Second Occupation of Cuba.

[14] Truesdell returned to the United States in 1909, and his duties after rejoining his regiment included assisting in planning and overseeing execution of 1909's annual Civilian Marksmanship Program National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio.

[20] What was supposed to be a short familiarization flight over Fort Omaha became the subject of nationwide headlines on May 29 and 30 when the pilot lost control and the balloon was no longer visible to observers on the ground.

[20] Several hours later, the pilot made a successful nighttime landing in Burlington Junction, Missouri, about 80 miles from Fort Omaha, which was reported in newspapers throughout the United States on May 30 and May 31.

[21] In May 1913, Truesdell relinquished command and was assigned as assistant to the chief signal officer on the staff of the army's Eastern Department, which was based at Fort Jay on Governors Island.

[32][33] In the fall of 1917, Truesdell was with the 33rd Division as it completed organization and training at Camp Logan, Texas prior to departing for service in France.

[1] He was commended for his work to establish telephone and radio networks that enabled American Expeditionary Forces units to communicate with each other, which facilitated success in combat by making it easier to gain and maintain situational awareness, transmit orders and reports, and coordinate for artillery support, logistics and transportation, and combat health support.

[36] In June 1920, now returned to his permanent rank of captain, Truesdell was assigned to the Fort Leavenworth School of the Line as a student.

[38] After graduating, Truesdell remained at Fort Leavenworth to attend the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

[45] After returning to the United States, Truesdell was promoted to colonel and assigned to command the 16th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jay on Governors Island.

[59][60] In retirement, Truesdell was a resident of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and maintained a summer home in Silver Lake, a hamlet in the village of Perry, which is in the town of Castile.