World War I museum to open

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 in Kansas City, Mo., 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.

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.

It was designed by Ralph Appelbaum, who also designed the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas. The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial contains tons of weaponry, including cannons, biplanes and replicas of the trenches where World War I soldiers fought.