As you cross this glass bridge you will see a field of 9,000 poppies below, each one representing 1,000 deaths. The tower and clouds are reflected in the glass.
I love history now, but when I was in school, it was the last thing I wanted to learn. This museum will give you everything you should know about this war and how it came about, in easy to understand short videos.
If you enlarge this picture, you will see who declared war on who and in what order. Half of the museum is dedicated to the war between 1914 and 1917, before the United States got involved.
The other half of the museum shows the war AFTER the U.S. jumped in. There are many images like this one of the trenches, along with artifacts that were used by the men. One of the fascinating things is that almost every single item is identified as to the owner or who actually used it.
There were a lot of horses and mules used during this time, and you may have seen the movie War Horse. This is the fight Harry Truman fought before he became President.
Many items still exist in perfect condition, including this General's saddle and boots. There are artifacts from every side that fought in the war, so you can see Austrian, Australian, Serbian, Russian and every other country's uniforms and gear, including an excellent gun and cannon exhibit.
When tanks finally came along, they were VERY tiny ... barely large enough for two people to squeeze inside. Not that they did that much good ... this one was hit by mortar fire in the back left corner, leaving a gaping hole above the tracks you can see on the far right of this image.
Another interesting collection of hand grenades that look like Christmas decorations. I never knew there were so many different kinds, but each country had their own idea of how to make them. Eight were carried in pocket straps on your body. Good luck if you were too close to an exploding bomb. At any rate, you pulled one out, tore off the plaster on the detonator, struck a match on the wristband, lit the charge, held it for 3-4 seconds and threw it as hard as you could. THAT's scary!!
Once the war was over, many men gathered souvenirs, which are evident everywhere here. Some even painted their gear, as Sgt. 1/C Sam Pruitt did here. Others had prisoners of war paint scenes on their helmets. Most of the shell casings that were made into vases really weren't done in the trenches, but were made by Frenchmen to sell as souvenirs.
J.J. Pennig from St. Paul Minnesota engraved his mess kit, as did many others on exhibit here.
Even if you're not really interested in history, this museum is well worth the trip. On Wednesdays, it's half price ... $7.00. Before we left we stopped for lunch in the museum cafe. Tom's BLT looked delicious, but Barbara and I had a Strawberry Fields Salad with poppyseed dressing that was amazing ... except I was SURE I read it had chicken in it. Upon leaving, I checked the menu and sure enough, it SHOULD have had chicken. I brought it to their attention, but I don't think they believed me. It was still a good salad, but be sure yours is complete!!
We could have walked across the street back to Union Station for the permanent Model Train exhibit, but it's a long walk back ... and uphill ... to the car, so we drove instead. Don't forget to put your $5.00 for parking in the slot, or you will get a BIG ticket. In the very back of the building is a room full of really great model trains. Entry is free, but please make a donation to keep the trains running.
There are lots of trains going around, but I was more interested in the buildings that lit up with flashing lights and moving people. You HAVE to check out the guys welding on an old train engine!! This Drive-In was VERY cool. I've never seen one like it anywhere, and check out Spider Man on the building behind.
They even had the Galloping Goose, built by the Rio Grande Southern Railway as a cheaper alternative to Steam Engines, in order to save the company from bankruptcy.
The attention to detail on these buildings was amazing ... the theatre playing Gone With The Wind had neon lights flashing and you could easily see the burning building the Fire Department was putting out. Batman was here, as well as Wonder Woman.
After a long day walking many miles, Barbara and Tom took me to see where some of the Skills USA competitions will be held at Kemper Arena, part of the American Royal Livestock Show complex, which I've never heard of before. Apparently it's a big livestock, horse and rodeo show that takes place in October. All of this is located in the old Kansas City Stockyards District. I was looking for the corrals and slaughterhouses, but nothing remains of the sites cowboys drove thousands of cattle to in the old days. It's now covered with aging brick buildings in need of repair, however the Kansas City Live Stock Exchange is located here and seems to be going strong.
Temperatures were in the 90's yesterday with a nice convection-oven type breeze to cook us through to well done. Back in the rigs, we cooled off and relaxed, getting ready for new adventures. Today's forecast is for temperatures up to 87 degrees with rain, which means we'll be steam-cooked instead of roasted!!
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