Tomorrow will be a day of remembrance. Memories fade though, bringing both comfort and danger. How many times must the lessons be taught and at what price before we remember for once and for all?
 
At the conclusion of the summer meeting of the First Tier Suburbs Council Steering Committee meeting in Kansas City in June, some of us had a few hours before our flights departed. Scott Cannon, Duncanville City Council member, and I were on the same flight and planned to ride together to the airport. We took a scenic route toward the airport through downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
 
The night before we had eaten at Union Station with other FTS members. The World War I Museum loomed large across the street. Now with extra hours to spend, we decided to take a closer look, not really knowing what to expect.
 

Click for a slide show of more photos taken at the museum.

 
I'm sure neither of us was prepared for the immensity and magnificence of the museum. We rode an old elevator to the top of the Liberty Memorial where we could easily see all of downtown and more. Back on the ground, we started with one of the two exhibit halls that were on the same level. Inside the door were metal plaques with the names of those from Kansas City that had given their lives defending liberty and our country during World War I. Across the top of all four panels, each was labeled: We Are the Dead.
 
We then descended to the lower sections of the museum. The exhibits were very professional and shared a great deal of information.
 
One point that we fail to remember is that war at the turn of the twentieth century was little changed from earlier centuries. There were advancements in weaponry but for the most part war was still individual-to-individual combat. The greatest weapons of mass destruction were cannons. The industrial world had changed greatly though. Factories were able to mass produce vehicles and build immense ships. Airplanes and dirigibles brought a whole new element to warfare. Poison gas could kill or maim hundreds almost simultaneously. Tanks took the cannons beyond the front lines. For the first time in history, soldiers were likely to die at the hands of an unseen enemy even while horses and tanks shared the same killing fields.
 
So we don't forget.