My brother was in town for the weekend so we decided to take him to the National WWI Museum in Kansas City. It is amazing how much time and work has been put into the museum and is well worth the visit.

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This has been one of my favorite places to visit this year so I am reposting the story and adding a video.

After visiting the National World War I Museum, I must say that it is an extraordinary monument to the achievements and hardships faced by the Allied soldiers during The Great War. In addition, the museum now shows the “Man and Machine: The German Soldier in World War I” exhibit so we can see the war through the other side. It was truly amazing how the museum was laid out with the central circle being a chronological timeline that takes you from the beginning through all the important events and then to the end. Along the way there are personal writings and the thoughts of people who were actually there and experiencing what we can now only read about, imagining what these soldiers went through trying to survive such a dark and violent war.

            The first thing that caught my attention was the glass bridge that extends over a poppy garden. There are 9,000 poppies planted here, each one representing 1,000 combatant deaths in WWI. The greeters are a wealth of help and knowledge about the museum so don’t hesitate to ask them any questions you may have.

            Going right takes you to the exhibits that date from 1914 – 1917 and include the first half of the “Chronology of War”, a trench that allows visitors to see the conditions soldiers faced while living and fighting there, the “Interactive Tables” where anyone can learn about the technologies used throughout the war, and the “Air & Sea” galleries. Everything is neatly laid out and displayed, including a section of floor that is constructed of glass, allowing you to look below to see other artifacts. Lining the main walk are the different types of artillery guns that were used. Uniforms, handguns, rifles, heavy machine guns, awards, medical gear, chemical warfare equipment, and ammunition are a small fraction of what you will see here. A Whitehead Mark 1 torpedo and a DeHavilland DH2 demonstrates the air and sea capabilities used.