Who knew that there was such an amazing place right here in the Midwest! I usually have to go to Washington D.C. to be wowed by such a great monument. But this weekend, while I was in Kansas City to see my boyfriend's sister and her husband, we went to visit the nation's official World War I Memorial.
To get a sense of how amazing this place is, you have to visit in person. First of all, its imposing tower rises over the rest of downtown KC like a beacon. We rode up to the top and got a 360 degree view of the city, including some fool who was swimming around in the Westin Crown Center swimming pool in the 50 degree temps! Brrr.
After coming down from the tower, we toured three separate facilities, each progressively more cool than the previous one. There were interpretive stations with computers everywhere, giving impressive detail about all the displays and artifacts.
Probably the most impressive of all the artwork on display was The Panthéon de la Guerre, a cyclorama the size of a football field, featuring 5,000 full-length portraits of prominent figures from World War I—a painting that blatantly sought to arouse patriotic fervor in its viewers. The largest painting ever attempted in its day, it was painted in the 1930s then stored in a warehouse and forgotten for 20 years, before being rescued and installed as a mural in the KC memorial. 
There were numerous media in use within the museum, including audio recordings of famous speeches by everyone from Hitler to Booker T. Washington. There were also computerized light tables that explained in detail the different types of planes and tanks used in the war.
When the memorial was opened, people from all over the U.S. sent in their prized memoriabilia, and massive amounts of it are on display. There are medical field kits, art made from shell casings, Howitzers, helmets, wool underwear, and letters from the front. We spent nearly four hours walking around. One of the most intriguing displays was a huge field of 8,000 red poppies. We found out that during the war in Europe, troops often fought in large poppy fields. Each of the 8,000 poppies represented 1,000 people who were killed in The Great War. Also known as "the war to end all wars," it is well documented and chronicled in this extraordinary space.
Congratulations to the people of Kansas City for having the foresight to build this fabulous place. It's too bad that mankind obviously has not learned its lesson, and continues to send young folks off to die in needless armed conflict.
