By Laura Scott, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Carl DiCapo remembers vividly the woman he found sobbing loudly one day inside the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.

She was on her knees in front of one of the exhibits, he said, and she was pointing to a photograph of a man in an army uniform behind the glass.

“That’s my father, that’s my father,” she kept saying.

DiCapo, a former Kansas City parks board member who has been one of the museum’s biggest backers and a trustee of the Liberty Memorial Association, said the woman was one of numerous donors who had sent a photograph or artifact from the war for the museum’s possible use.

But she apparently hadn’t realized it actually would be exhibited.

I think that’s the story of this place.
Until you walk through the museum, you don’t realize what wonderful surprises are inside.

What a jewel Kansas City has brought out of its box, polished off and enhanced in a setting that is absolutely the best, inside and outside.

The new museum at the Liberty Memorial was opened to the public in December, 2006.

Designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, it has a congressional designation as the nation’s official World War I museum.

It was funded by general obligation bonds, approved by Kansas City voters, and federal money and private sources. There’s an admission fee for most visitors.

I hate to admit that until recently I hadn’t visited the museum. I hadn’t made it a priority to find out about a war that was fought way before my time — and my parents’ time. My father was born on Nov. 12, 1918, the day after the guns fell silent.

What’s the matter with me?

The place is fabulous.

Or as my husband put it: If this museum were in Washington, D.C., and you were visiting there, “you would make an effort to go see it.”

Well, Kansas City, we aren’t Washington, but we have put one over that city of memorials and museums.

Trouble is, a lot of Kansas Citians haven’t even seen it. Judging from a number I’ve talked to, we have a classic case of hometown-itis here — we often fail to appreciate the worth of something if it’s in our own backyard.

Yet, people come from all over the country — even the world — to see this museum. Forty percent of visitors are from places more than 60 miles away.

Museum officials say they are having difficulty getting some local schools to bring children for a history lesson, although more than 29,000 school children have come through.

Teachers can contact the museum for free CDs and other materials to use in classrooms.

What this museum does so well is give those who haven’t had a personal connection to World War I a history lesson that’s vivid and compelling.

“It’s a very content-rich exhibit,” says Eli Paul, the museum director.

And interactive in places, too, making it a particular draw for young people.

Visitors have spent hours and days doing research by reading the comprehensive history highlights along the walls.

But there is a lot more to see, hear and do. Watch two great movies about the war (but no popcorn; you have to eat later in the Over There Café). Walk into a crater created by artillery. Peer into openings in reconstructed trenches and listen to stories from the soldiers who lived, fought and died along a 475-mile front from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps. Learn about women’s vital contributions to the war effort. See a French-made Renault F-T-17 tank on display. It has a hole in its side from artillery fire.

The carefully selected pieces tell more than the story of a war. They tell how people lived leading up to the Great War and how things changed almost overnight.

The most compelling story throughout is about trench warfare and its awful toll.

After my visit, I began reading “All’s Quiet on the Western Front.” I have become fascinated with what people went through to fight this war.

It’s worth a trip — and more than one. And it’s worth improved community financial support, which hopefully will come as people see what a treasure it is. First, we just need to get over that hometown-itis.

To reach Laura Scott, assistant editorial page editor, call 816-234-4452 or send e-mail to .