Kansas City, Missouri is home to Liberty Memorial and The National World War I Museum. The tower and original museum were built in the 1920s, and in 2006 a new and expanded museum opened. We'd tried many times to go but were put off by the crowds. One dreary afternoon this week we finally made it. 
The tower is over 217 feet tall. On either side are the original exhibit halls. The two stone figures are Sphinxes. "Memory" has wings folded across it's face to hide the horror of war, and "Future" folds it's wings across it's face to symbolize the unseen future. You can see the slope of the lawn going down to the entrance of the new museum. The back of the memorial also has a very impressive frieze.
The entrance to the museum is a glass bridge over 9,000 poppies, each one representing 1,000 combatant deaths. Poppies were the first flowers to grow in the battlefields, and the inspiration for the poem "In Flanders Fields" When I was young Poppy Day pins were sold around Memorial Day to honor and remember the sacrifice made by our soldiers. .
Of course John was interested in the Howitzers. 
WWI machine guns 
These were darts dropped by the box full from airplanes. They were weighted so the points faced down and gained velocity on their way to the victims below.Airplanes were new in WWI, and at first were used only for reconnaissance. One day a pilot threw something at another plane. Soon pilots armed themselves with handguns and the race for air superiority was on.
One of the theaters has a "bombed out building" in front and below the screen. The soldiers are walking through what looks like mud. The presentation in this theater was quite impressive. I really had no idea how many men died in trenches or what the term trench warfare really meant. John's grandfather enlisted and went to Europe, but the war ended shortly after his arrival.
A WWI tank
One of the theaters has a "bombed out building" in front and below the screen. The soldiers are walking through what looks like mud. The presentation in this theater was quite impressive. I really had no idea how many men died in trenches or what the term trench warfare really meant. John's grandfather enlisted and went to Europe, but the war ended shortly after his arrival.
A WWI tank.
A 1917 Harley Davidson. Absolutely no suspension, but it could run 50 MPH!
A 1917 Harley Davidson. Absolutely no suspension, but it could run 50 MPH!.
The Americans collected souvenirs. Look how they stuck the stamps right on this Austrian helmet, added a label and mailed it home.
The blue George Washington stamps, issued in1917, cost $ .05 each. 
The Americans collected souvenirs. Look how they stuck the stamps right on this Austrian helmet, added a label and mailed it home.
No comments:
Post a Comment