Today was Veteran’s Day in the US, which recognizes the contributions of all US Armed Forces veterans on the anniversary of Armistice Day in 1918, when World War One hostilities ended. So it was particularly appropriate that this was the day that I happened to be in Kansas City, Missouri where the National World War 1 Museum and Memorial is located. This museum is, by far, the best museum I have visited relating to that period. I have visited many other museums dealing with WW1 as well as WW1 cemeteries and monuments nut most tend to focus on just a part of the conflict. The beauty of this museum was that it really educates the visitor about the context of the war, the complexities of the treaties and secret agreements and the significance of major events not only in a historical sense but also from a global, political perspective.

The museum is split into two parts. The larger part sets the context and teaches about the first three years before the US declared war and the second part finishes the global story but focuses on the influence that the US had on the war and that the war had on the US. Being Veterans Day, admission was free, and it was great to see so many families coming here to learn together, but it was more than worth the normal admission fee.

Before driving to Kansas City I also indulged in some history in Topeka by visiting the Brown vs Board of Education National Historic Site. In the summer I had visited Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas, which was a site of defiance and struggle related to desegregating public schools. Desegregation was ordered by the Supreme Court in the case of Brown vs Board of Education which was brought by plaintiffs from Topeka. The National Historic Site is housed in Monroe Elementary School which was the colored school in the city and it offered a good description of the development of both segregation and desegregation as a whole, but focusing on education. This was, of course, very interesting for this former teacher.

My day ended with a drive east to Warrenton, Missouri which is just west of St. Louis but not in the relaxing driving conditions I experienced yesterday. Very strong crosswinds were blowing almost all day and the route cut across an area that was under a tornado watch. Driving required full concentration and both hands on the wheel but it was relatively short and completed without incident.

The video and map are here.

Monroe Elementary School; home of the Brown vs Board of Education historic Site in Topeka, Kansas.

The exterior of the National World War 1 Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.The entrance to the museum was via this glass bridge over a “field of poppies”Although the exhibits were excellent, as shown below, the videos, dioramas and storyboards were, for me, the strength of the museum.