RECOGNITION OF THE LIBERTY MEMORIAL MUSEUM, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, AS AMERICA’S NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM.

SEC. 1031. RECOGNITION OF THE LIBERTY MEMORIAL MUSEUM, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, AS AMERICA’S NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM. (a) Findings.—Congress makes the following findings:(1) The Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, was built in honor of those individuals who served in World War I in defense of liberty and the United States.(2) The Liberty Memorial Association, the nonprofit organization that originally built the Liberty Memorial Museum, is responsible for the finances, operations, and collections management of the Liberty Memorial Museum.(3) The Liberty Memorial Museum is the only public museum in the United States that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting the experiences of the United States and its allies in the World War I years (1914–1918), both on the battlefield and on the home front.(4) The Liberty Memorial Museum project began after the 1918 Armistice through the efforts of a large-scale, grass-roots civic and fundraising effort by the citizens of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including veterans of World War I. After the conclusion of a national architectural design competition, ground was broken in 1921, construction began in 1923, and the Liberty Memorial Museum was opened to the public in 1926.(5) In 1994, the Liberty Memorial Museum closed for a massive restoration and expansion project. The restored museum reopened to the public on Memorial Day in 2002 during a gala rededication ceremony.(6) Exhibits prepared for the original museum buildings presaged the dramatic, underground expansion of core exhibition gallery space, with over 30,000 square feet of new interpretive and educational exhibits currently in development. The new exhibits, along with an expanded research library and archives, will more fully utilize the many thousands of historical objects, books, maps, posters, photographs, diaries, letters, and reminiscences of World War I participants that are preserved for posterity in the collections of the Liberty Memorial Museum. The new core exhibition is scheduled to open on Veterans Day in 2006.(7) The City of Kansas City, the State of Missouri, and thousands of private donors and philanthropic foundations have contributed millions of dollars to first build and later restore the Liberty Memorial Museum. The Liberty Memorial Museum continues to receive the strong support of residents from the States of Missouri and Kansas and across the United States.(8) Since its restoration and rededication in 2002, the Liberty Memorial Museum has attracted thousands of visitors from across the United States and many foreign countries.(9) There remains a need to preserve in a museum setting evidence of the honor, courage, patriotism, and sacrifice of those Americans who offered their services and who gave their lives in defense of liberty during World War I, evidence of 118 STAT. 2045 the roles of women and African Americans during World War I, and evidence of other relevant subjects.(10) The Liberty Memorial Museum seeks to educate a diverse group of audiences through its comprehensive collection of historical materials, emphasizing eyewitness accounts of the participants on the battlefield and the home front and the impact of World War I on individuals, then and now. The Liberty Memorial Museum continues to actively acquire and preserve such materials.(11) A great opportunity exists to use the invaluable resources of the Liberty Memorial Museum to teach the “Lessons of Liberty” to schoolchildren in the United States through on-site visits, classroom curriculum development, distance-learning activities, and other educational initiatives.(12) The Liberty Memorial Museum should remain the foremost museum in the United States regarding the national experience in the World War I years, which people can visit to learn about World War I and where the history of this monumental struggle will be preserved so that current and future generations may understand the role played by the United States in the preservation and advancement of democracy, freedom, and liberty in the early 20th century.(13) The work of the Liberty Memorial Museum to recognize and preserve the history of the Nation’s sacrifices in World War I will take on added significance as the centennial observance of the war approaches.(14) It is fitting and proper to refer to the Liberty Memorial Museum as “America’s National World War I Museum”.(b) Congressional Recognition.—Congress—(1) recognizes the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, including the museum’s future and expanded exhibits, collections, library, archives, and educational programs, as “America’s National World War I Museum”;(2) recognizes that the continuing collection, preservation, and interpretation of the historical objects and other historical materials held by the Liberty Memorial Museum will enhance the knowledge and understanding of the experiences of the United States and its allies in the World War I years (1914–1918), both on the battlefield and on the home front;(3) commends the ongoing development and visibility of the “Lessons of Liberty” educational outreach programs prepared by the Liberty Memorial Museum for teachers and students throughout the United States; and(4) encourages present generations of Americans to understand the magnitude of World War I, how it shaped the United States, other countries, and later world events, and how the sacrifices made by Americans then helped preserve liberty, democracy, and other founding principles of the United States for generations to come.