RESOLUTION NO. 070527

Recognizing a campaign to place Kansas City at the forefront of WWI Centennial Observations.

WHEREAS, beginning in 2014, nations across the globe will be conducting centennial observances of World War I, and

WHEREAS, in Kansas City, a Front Line Committee has been formed to continue expanding global awareness of the Liberty Memorial and the new National World War I Museums historic collections and scholarship related to the First World War, and

WHEREAS, Senator Christopher Bond and other leading citizens of Kansas City and Missouri are seeking support in Washington D.C. to bring international-level observances to Kansas City during the upcoming centennial years. By proactively stepping to the forefront of plans, efforts and activities related to the global Centennial, Kansas City and America will have an opportunity to give the worlds people and governments a better understanding of the United States historic role as an arbiter for world order, cooperative existences and peace; and

WHEREAS, the first American officer lost in the first world war was Kansas Citian William Fitzsimons, and such influential figures as General John Black Jack Pershing,commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, and an officer by the name of Harry Truman, came from the Missouri heartland; and

WHEREAS, Kansas Citians built the Liberty Memorial in the 1920s with nickels, dimes and dollars contributed by more than 80,000 every day folks, including children. And in recent years, the citizens have restored the grand memorial and built a brilliant WWI Museum dedicated to education and research, and to fostering timely discussions of ethics, values, decision-making and conflict resolution; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

That the Mayor and Council hereby recognize, applaud and support the aforementioned for their vision in making Kansas City a focal-point for reflection and scholarship during the Centennial years upcoming.

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