IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 421 
Recognizing the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as 
‘‘America’s National World War I Museum’’, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 12, 2004 
Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri (for herself, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. 
MOORE, Mr. CLAY, Mr. GRAVES, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. GEPHARDT, and 
Mr. AKIN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Armed Services 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, 
Missouri, as ‘‘America’s National World War I Mu-
seum’’, and for other purposes. 
Whereas the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Mis-
souri, was built in 1926 in honor of those who served in 
World War I in defense of liberty and the Nation; × 
Whereas the Liberty Memorial Association, a nonprofit orga-
nization which originally built the Liberty Memorial Mu-
seum, is responsible for the finances, operations, and col-
lections management of the Liberty Memorial Museum; × 
Whereas the Liberty Memorial Museum is the only public 
museum in the Nation that exists for the exclusive pur-
pose of interpreting the experiences of the United States
•HCON 421 IH 
and its allies in the World War I years (1914–1918), 
both on the battlefield and on the home front; × 
Whereas 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 
and veterans of the Kansas City metropolitan area; × 
Whereas after the conclusion of a national architectural de-
sign competition, ground was broken in 1921, construc-
tion began in 1923, and the Liberty Memorial Museum 
was opened to the public in 1926; × 
Whereas in 1994, the Liberty Memorial Museum closed for 
a massive restoration and expansion project; × 
Whereas the restored museum reopened to the public on Me-
morial Day, 2002, during a gala rededication ceremony; 
× 
Whereas 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 de-
velopment; × 
Whereas 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 
Liberty Memorial Museum’s’s collections; × 
Whereas the new core exhibition is scheduled to open on Vet-
erans Day, 2006; × 
Whereas the City of Kansas City, the State of Missouri, and 
thousands of private donors and philanthropic founda-
•HCON 421 IH 
tions have contributed millions of dollars to build and 
later to restore this national treasure; × 
Whereas the Liberty Memorial Museum continues to receive 
the strong support of residents from the States of Mis-
souri and Kansas and across the Nation; × 
Whereas since the restoration and rededication of 2002, the 
Liberty Memorial Museum has attracted thousands of 
visitors from across the United States and many foreign 
countries; × 
Whereas there remains a need to preserve in a museum set-
ting evidence of the honor, courage, patriotism, and sac-
rifice of those Americans who offered their services and 
who gave their lives in defense of liberty during World 
War I, evidence of the roles of women and African Amer-
icans during World War I, and evidence of other relevant 
subjects; × 
Whereas the Liberty Memorial Museum seeks to educate a 
diverse group of audiences through its comprehensive col-
lection of historical materials, emphasizing eyewitness ac-
counts of the participants on the battlefield and the home 
front and the impact of World War I on individuals, then 
and now; × 
Whereas the Liberty Memorial Museum continues to actively 
acquire and preserve such materials; × 
Whereas a great opportunity exists to use the invaluable re-
sources of the Liberty Memorial Museum to teach the 
‘‘Lessons of Liberty’’ to the Nation’s schoolchildren 
through on-site visits, classroom curriculum development, 
distance learning, and other educational initiatives; × 
Whereas the Liberty Memorial Museum should always be the 
Nation’s museum of the national experience in the World