War museums bring fading history into sharp focus
Nearly a century before anyone thought of the concept of “crowdfunding,” a group of businessmen in can-do Kansas City, imbued with patriotic fervor, raised $2 million (about $27 million in 2016 dollars) to build a monument in just two weeks.
The group wanted to honor those who’d served in the Great War, later known as World War I. Shortly after the armistice in 1918, the fundraising drive began to build the Liberty Memorial. Ground was broken in 1921, and on Nov. 11, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge traveled to Kansas City to dedicate the Egyptian Revival-style monument, set on a hill towering 217 feet above the city.
On that Armistice Day 90 years ago, Coolidge said the Liberty Memorial was “not raised to commemorate war and victory, but rather the results of war and victory, which are embodied in peace and liberty.”
A museum sprang up around the memorial, one that is designated as the country’s official curation of all things World War I. Doran Cart, the museum’s senior curator, has worked there since 1990. During his tenure, the museum has amassed a collection that is known around the world. There are no veterans left from the war now, but over the years, Cart brought quite a few to the museum for interviews. They were, he says, “nice, polite and quite salty.” They enjoyed sharing their war stories, he says. Once, he invited two veterans in for interviews. One was 106; the other was 107. They were scheduled 30 minutes apart but both showed up at the same time. Cart apologized for only having one chair. “That’s OK,” the 106-year-old replied. “Let the old guy sit down.”
Cart’s mission has been for people who visit the museum to make a connection with the history, to show the humanity of war. Visitors enter the museum by walking across a glass bridge suspended over a field of 9,000 poppies, one poppy for every 1,000 souls lost in the war. It may be hard to remember a number, but it’s impossible to forget that sea of red poppies.
In a day when, for most students, World War I merits a scant chapter in a history book, the museum provides context. A visit begins with a short film explaining what was going on in the world in the years leading up to the war. A curved wall with a detailed timeline of significant events throughout the war is just outside the theater. From there, visitors can view weapons and uniforms of the day.
Civilian efforts are spotlighted, too. One display shows children lined up to turn in toy soldiers made of lead that could be melted and used to make weapons. Another explains the hunger blockade that kept food and supplies out of Germany. Some estimates say as many as 5 million civilians died as a result of the war.
A favorite interactive display features booths where visitors can listen to recordings of popular books and music of the day, as well as rare voice recordings of Vladimir Lenin and Kaiser Wilhelm II, among others.
A path through the museum winds its way through popular culture, pivotal battles and the contribution of women to the war effort. But the greatest lessons may be those gleaned from the final displays. Because of the war, the United States became a major player on the world stage. That’s given rich context through maps and quotations. And although it was popular at the time to refer to this war as “the war to end wars,” the final displays show that many knew that was simply an optimistic platitude. As French Gen. Ferdinand Foch said after the Treaty of Versailles: “This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years.”
Two more war museums of note
The Wall Street Journal called The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas, the “most comprehensive” military museum in the country. The 50,000-square foot facility is dedicated to the war’s Pacific theater. New at the museum this year: a $2.5 million renovation of the PT boat exhibit, where visitors can walk on the deck of PT 309, the only restored World War II PT boat to see combat that’s on display in the U.S. today. The museum’s George H.W. Bush Gallery starts with a vivid exhibit on the Pearl Harbor attack, which brought America into the war.
On Dec. 7, the museum will mark the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack with a real-time Twitter event starting at 12:25 p.m. CST, the time of the Japanese attack. Follow along on Twitter (@nimitzmuseum) to get real-time feeds, images and artifacts related to the attack.
Major renovations are underway at the National Museum World War II Museum in New Orleans. Open since 2000, the museum has become a popular, if unlikely, tourist attraction in a city not usually associated with military matters. But it makes sense: Higgins Industries of New Orleans developed a line of boats including PT and amphibious watercraft that were key to the war effort. But the museum isn’t just about boats. Aircraft are featured, too. The museum’s Road to Berlin and Road to Tokyo exhibits provide comprehensive looks into major war initiatives.
If you go
The National World War I Museum and Memorial
2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, Mo.
816-888-8100
The National World World II Museum
945 Magazine St., New Orleans, La.
504-528-1944
The National Museum of the Pacific War
340 E. Main St. Fredericksburg, Texas
830-997-8600
