National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial Receives Designation from Congress

Following legislation passed in the United States House of Representatives in May, the United States Senate passed a bill as part of the National Defense Authorization Act today providing the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial with its second official recognition from Congress. The legislation effectively designates the Museum as the National World War I Museum and Memorial.

 The bill recognizes Liberty Memorial as a World War I memorial in a similar fashion to other nationally recognized memorials such as the National World War II Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The legislation provides an additional designation for the Museum, which was deemed as “America’s National World War I Museum” by Congress in 2004.

 “This recognition from Congress is a tribute to the foresight and dedication of the 80,000-plus Kansas City area residents who took the initiative to establish and build the Liberty Memorial and Museum shortly after the end of World War I,” National World War I Museum President and CEO Dr. Matthew Naylor said. “We are grateful to each of the members of Congress, including local Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt and Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, Sam Graves and Kevin Yoder, for leading this effort to officially recognize Liberty Memorial.”

 The Senate bill was introduced by Missouri Senators Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill and West Virginia Senator John Rockefeller. The U.S. House of Representatives legislation passed in May was introduced by Missouri Representatives Emanuel Cleaver and Sam Graves, Wisconsin Representative Gwen Moore, Washington D.C. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, Texas Representative Ted Poe, Illinois Representative Bobby Rush, Virginia Representative Rob Wittman, Kansas Representative Kevin Yoder and Alaska Representative Don Young.

 The legislation also redesignates Pershing Park in Washington D.C. as a World War I Memorial and authorizes enhancements or creation of additional commemorative works within the area. Enhancements would be spearheaded by the United States World War I Centennial Commission using privately raised funds.

 The bill now moves to the White House, where it awaits a signature from President Barack Obama.

 The National World War I Museum holds the most diverse collection of World War I objects and documents in the world and is the second-oldest public museum dedicated to preserving the objects, history and personal experiences of the war. The Museum was ranked as one of the top 25 museums in the United States by TripAdvisor in 2014 and was recently recognized by USA Today as one of the top 10 museums that “bring military history to life.”