The National WWI Museum and Memorial has announced it’ll be opening a time capsule that was placed in the cornerstone on the Memorial Courtyard during construction in the 1920s. The long-awaited reveal will happen on October 16, 2024, a century after it was placed at the site dedicated to those who lost their lives during the Great War.
The opening of the time capsule has many excited, as it’ll offer a glimpse into post-war America. A story published in the Kansas City Times during that period states that it contains objects and historical objects dating back to the First World War, including signed copies of the 1918 Armistice agreement and the country’s official declaration of war from 1917.
Also alleged to be within it are a copy of The Artilleryman, photos of the three US presidents who took part in the 1921 dedication of the Liberty Memorial site and flags from America’s wartime allies.
While the National WWI Museum and Memorial is in possession of the “official” list of what’s within the time capsule, it’s curious about what else it could contain.
The concept for a memorial dedicated to the American soldiers who lost their lives while fighting in World War I first came about in 1919. The Kansas City-based Liberty Memorial Association spearheaded the project, with the Liberty Memorial being designed by New Jersey-born architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle.
Featuring a 217-foot-tall spire and two Assyrian sphinxes – one facing east (toward France) and the other, west (symbolizing a still unknown future) – the memorial opened to the public in 1926. Two years prior, the aforementioned time capsule was placed in the cornerstone.
The event saw speeches from the likes of then-US President Calvin Coolidge, a concert, the releasing of doves and aircraft flybys.
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The opening of the time capsule will take place at 10:30 AM CST on October 16. While people are encouraged to attend in-person, those unable to make it can watch the event via a live stream on the National WWI Museum and Memorial’s website.