[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 55 (Wednesday, April 1, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E837-E838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCING A BILL TO DESIGNATE THE LIBERTY MEMORIAL AS THE NATIONAL 
WWI MEMORIAL AND TO ESTABLISH THE WWI CENTENNIAL COMMISSION TO ENSURE A 
               SUITABLE OBSERVANCE OF THE WWI CENTENNIAL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 2009

  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, today along with my colleagues, 
Representatives Akin, Blunt, Carnahan, Clay, Emerson, Graves, 
Luetkemeyer, and Skelton, I am introducing a bill designating the 
Liberty Memorial at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, 
Missouri as the National World War I Memorial. This bill also 
establishes a Centennial Commission to ensure a fitting observance of 
the centennial of World War I.
  The First World War extended through four of the bloodiest years in 
world history. This truly global conflict involved the world's major 
powers, mobilizing over 70 million military forces. The War to End All 
Wars ended with an armistice on November 11, 1918 on the Western Front 
in Europe, after approximately 16 million military and civilian deaths 
across the globe, including 375,000 American casualties. The death and 
destruction of World War I irrevocably impacted the lens through which 
people viewed the world: The optimism that initiated the early 1900s 
was swiftly sobered by a consciousness that came to be known as the 
Lost Generation.
  Many people, however, were determined to make this generation a 
generation remembered and honored. Concerned American citizens in 
Kansas City, Missouri initiated a movement to erect a lasting and 
meaningful monument to the men and women who served and died for 
liberty in World War I.
  According to R.A. Long, the founding president of the Liberty 
Memorial Association, the 217-foot Liberty Memorial was intended to 
represent ``on the part of all people, a living expression for all time 
of the gratitude of a grateful people to those who offered and who gave 
their lives in defense of liberty and our country.'' In 1919, the 
people of Kansas City, Missouri expressed an outpouring of support and 
raised more than $2,000,000 in two weeks for a memorial to the service 
of Americans in World War I. This fundraising was an accomplishment 
unparalleled by any other city in the United States and reflected the 
passion of public opinion about World War I, at the forefront of 
everyone's memory.
  H. Van Buren Magonigle won a national architectural competition 
officiated by the American Institute of Architects to further transform 
the Liberty Memorial idea into reality. On November 1, 1921, nearly 
200,000 people witnessed the dedication of the site for the Liberty 
Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. The dedication marked the only time 
in history that the five allied military leaders--Lieutenant General 
Baron Jacques of Belgium, General Armando Diaz of Italy, Marshall 
Ferdinand Foch of France, General John J. Pershing of the United 
States, and Admiral Lord Earl Beatty of Great Britain, were together at 
one place. General Pershing echoed the significance of the dedication 
by asserting, ``[t]he people of Kansas City, Missouri are deeply proud 
of the beautiful memorial, erected in tribute to the patriotism, the 
gallant achievements, and their heroic sacrifices of their sons and 
daughters who served in our country's armed forces during the World 
War. It symbolized their grateful appreciation of duty well done, an 
appreciation which I share, because I know so well how richly it is 
merited.''
  Shortly after its dedication, the Liberty Memorial was again 
distinguished during an Armistice Day ceremony in 1926 when President 
Calvin Coolidge marked the beginning of its three-year construction 
project by laying the cornerstone of the memorial. In his dedication 
speech, President Coolidge declared that ``[. . .] the magnitude of 
this memorial and the broad base of popular support on which it rests, 
can scarcely fail to excite national wonder and admiration [. . .].'' A 
message on the Liberty Memorial's tower bears an inscription that 
inspired its namesake: ``In Honor of Those Who Served in the World War 
in Defense of Liberty and Our Country.'' Four stone ``Guardian 
Spirits'' representing courage, honor, patriotism, and sacrifice 
proudly perch above an observation deck, making the Liberty Memorial a 
noble tribute to all who served in World War I.
  Undoubtedly, hundreds of thousands of people--since the memorial's 
inception and even today--regard the Liberty Memorial as a powerful 
symbol of and tribute to Americans who served in World War I. The 
grandeur and significance of the Liberty Memorial was recognized by the 
106th Congress as a national symbol of World War I. The Liberty 
Memorial that overlooks Kansas City extends far beyond the Kansas City 
limits. The Memorial serves as a perennial reminder of and for all 
Americans who served our country during World War I.
  The evidence articulated above demonstrates that the Liberty Memorial 
already is, has been, and deserves to be regarded as a national tribute 
to World War I. This legislation aims to make official what so many 
people already consider to be the National World War I Memorial.
  While we look to the Liberty Memorial in remembrance of World War I, 
we likewise must look to the upcoming World War I centennial, to be 
honored in 2017. To ensure a proper observance of the World War I 
centennial, this legislation also aims to create a commission to be 
known as the World War I Centennial Commission. The Commission will 
promote not only a suitable observance of the centennial of World War 
I, but will also recognize the values of honor, courage, patriotism, 
and sacrifice, in keeping with the representation of these values 
through the four Guardian Spirits

[[Page E838]]

sculpted on the Liberty Memorial Monument. The Commission will plan, 
develop, and execute programs, projects, and activities to commemorate 
the centennial of World War I. With Kansas City, Missouri as its 
official host, the Commission will be composed of twenty-four members 
who will work together to facilitate and coordinate activities 
throughout the United States to honor the Great War.
  Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I wholeheartedly introduce 
this legislation to make official the historic, powerful, and 
unparalleled stature of the Liberty Memorial as the National World War 
I Memorial coupled with the establishment of the World War I Centennial 
Commission to properly observe the World War I centennial. We owe the 
Liberty Memorial's designation as the National World War I Memorial to 
the hundreds of thousands of people, including those who served our 
country in World War I, who have looked to the Liberty Memorial as the 
interminable symbol of sacrifice and sovereignty that continue to shape 
our country. The World War I Centennial Commission will further observe 
America's historic commitment to freedom and appropriately remember 
those who fought for our country in the War to End All Wars.

                          ____________________