WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Pat Roberts today (R-KS) sponsored legislation to designate the Liberty Memorial and Museum in Kansas City as the National World War I Memorial.

“Liberty Memorial has been a fitting national tribute to World War I since 1921,” Senator Roberts said. “As a former Marine, honoring our nation’s veterans, past and present, is of the utmost importance. WWI veterans and their families deserve a recognized national memorial, and our nation needs to be reminded of this Great War for generations to come. Liberty Memorial should be named the official national memorial for WWI.”

Senator Roberts cosponsored S. 760, a bill by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to designate the Liberty Memorial at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City as the National World War I Memorial. Roberts also cosponsored S. 761, a bill by Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) to establish the World War I Centennial Commission to ensure suitable observance of the centennial of World War I.

Following the 1918 armistice, the Liberty Memorial Association raised $2.5 million for a memorial for World War I to be built in Kansas City, MO. The site was dedicated in November 1921 with the ceremony attended by Allied Commanders Marshall Foch (France), Admiral Beatty (Britain), and United States General John Pershing. After three years of construction, the 217 foot tall memorial was dedicated in 1926 by President Calvin Coolidge before a crowd of 150,000 people. In 2004, the Liberty War Memorial Museum was dedicated the “National WWI Museum,” which is the only public museum dedicated to the history of the Great War. In 2006, a $105 million renovation was completed of the memorial and museum, including a state-of-the-art theater and over 55,000 historical artifacts.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). Currently although more than four million Americans served in WWI, there is no national recognized memorial honoring their service.

For more information, visit www.theworldwar.org .

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