KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- World War I ended nearly 90 years ago, only a few of its U.S. veterans are still alive, and about a decade ago, its national monument was closed after years of neglect and deterioration.
But this weekend, the "war to end all wars" takes center stage when the National World War I Museum opens, giving the public a chance to learn about -- and from -- the conflict that catapulted the United States toward superpower status.
"Unfulfilled needs, national ambitions, national culture clashes, all of the things that were in play in World War I are still with us today," said Brig. Gen. Stephen Berkheiser, executive director of the new museum.
"And that's one of the main points of having the museum, not to take events of 90 years ago and just put a spotlight on them. But basically to answer the question: Why should I know? Why should I care?"
The wars that followed World War I had better visual records, making them more accessible to Americans. But the Great War was no less significant and also set the stage for current conflicts around the globe, Berkheiser said.
"It's a classic learning laboratory of the modern-nation state," said Berkheiser, who retired from the Marine Corps after a 30-year career. "You get to the end and you ask yourself: Is peace possible? Are we learning? Is the veneer of civilization getting any thicker?"
"Maybe not. Kosovo. Bosnia. Africa," he said.
The entrance to the $26 million museum includes a glass floor that is raised several feet above a field of 9,000 red poppies, representing the 9 million combat deaths of the war.
Designed by Ralph Appelbaum, who also designed the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington and the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial contains tons of weaponry from cannons to biplanes and replicas of the trenches where World War I soldiers fought and died.
It also has interactive stations where visitors "role play both making war and making peace," and a theater with a 100-foot screen playing rare film footage from the war.
The museum was funded with $20 million in city bonds, with the remainder coming from federal or private sources.
About 2 million Americans served in Europe after the United States entered the war in 1917. Only a few veterans are still alive, and as far as organizers of the new museum know, none will be on hand Saturday for the opening.
But this weekend, the "war to end all wars" takes center stage when the National World War I Museum opens, giving the public a chance to learn about -- and from -- the conflict that catapulted the United States toward superpower status.
"Unfulfilled needs, national ambitions, national culture clashes, all of the things that were in play in World War I are still with us today," said Brig. Gen. Stephen Berkheiser, executive director of the new museum.
"And that's one of the main points of having the museum, not to take events of 90 years ago and just put a spotlight on them. But basically to answer the question: Why should I know? Why should I care?"
The wars that followed World War I had better visual records, making them more accessible to Americans. But the Great War was no less significant and also set the stage for current conflicts around the globe, Berkheiser said.
"It's a classic learning laboratory of the modern-nation state," said Berkheiser, who retired from the Marine Corps after a 30-year career. "You get to the end and you ask yourself: Is peace possible? Are we learning? Is the veneer of civilization getting any thicker?"
"Maybe not. Kosovo. Bosnia. Africa," he said.
The entrance to the $26 million museum includes a glass floor that is raised several feet above a field of 9,000 red poppies, representing the 9 million combat deaths of the war.
Designed by Ralph Appelbaum, who also designed the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington and the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial contains tons of weaponry from cannons to biplanes and replicas of the trenches where World War I soldiers fought and died.
It also has interactive stations where visitors "role play both making war and making peace," and a theater with a 100-foot screen playing rare film footage from the war.
The museum was funded with $20 million in city bonds, with the remainder coming from federal or private sources.
About 2 million Americans served in Europe after the United States entered the war in 1917. Only a few veterans are still alive, and as far as organizers of the new museum know, none will be on hand Saturday for the opening.
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