By Michael Bushnell
Northeast News
November 26, 2014

The third annual convention of the American Legion was held in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 31, and Nov. 1 and 2 of 1921.

It coincided with the dedication of the Liberty Memorial. From a field of roughly 15 architectural firms from across the United States, H. Van Buren Magonigle of New York was selected to design the memorial to the “war to end all wars.” In 1919, a huge fund drive was held, and Northeast resident Robert A. Long was elected founding president of the newly-created organization spearheading the drive to construct a memorial to honor the war dead from World War I.

Long stated upon his election: “From its inception it was intended that this memorial should represent on the part of all people, a living expression for all time of the gratitude of a grateful people to those who offered and who gave their lives in defense of liberty and our country.”

A little over two weeks later, a staggering $2.5 million was raised, largely through public subscriptions, for the construction of Liberty Memorial. On Nov. 1, 1921, during the American Legion Convention, the site for the memorial was dedicated in front of more than 200,000 people who had turned out to support the effort. On Nov. 11, 1926, the finished memorial was dedicated and opened to the public. After a controversial face-lift and restoration in 2003-04, a newly dedicated National World War I Museum opened.

The museum painstakingly depicts the daily life of the “Doughboys” during their struggle for liberty “Over There.” This card is an official souvenir from the American Legion Convention held here in Kansas City in 1921, commemorating the site dedication of the Liberty Memorial.