Last night I celebrated Memorial Day, not at a party, but really celebrated the holiday. Kansas City is the home of the National World War I Memorial. With the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, and all the other dramatic and fascinating things about WWII, most tend to forget what WWI was even about. It took a lot of brain power to think back to my days of High School history class and remember the who, what, when, where and why of the war. Actually, I could not remember much. Thankfully the museum helped refresh my memory. (If ever in KC, I suggest you visit).It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Obviously, it was not. The trench warfare claimed about 20 million lives.
The WWI Memorial is the site of an annual Memorial Day celebration, complete with the Kansas City symphony and fireworks. It was amazing. For those of you from TX, think Concert in the Gardens on July 4th, except with only $2 parking instead of $20+ tickets per person. The most amazing part about it was unique to this year's program- Frank Buckles, the only current living US WWI veteran. He enlisted in WWI at 17. He stayed in Europe for a few years after the war to help people recover and even went on to fight in WWII, spending most of it at a POW camp in the Philippines. Frank is 107 years old. Can you imagine the stories he can tell? It was amazing to see him sitting there. Somehow, it helped the message and purpose of Memorial day hit home. I admit, as they played a song for him a teared up just a bit.
Between that and playing songs of each military branch as those who served stood all around me, I realized how amazing it truly is. I am not and will never be a fan of war. I love my country, but I am not sure I have the dedication these men and woman have. So many lost their lives so that I can enjoy freedom. They truly deserved to be honored with more than just an outdoor cookout.
Frank Buckles, age 16 and last night.
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