May 22, 2025 • 27 mins
Every monument tells a story. Every museum preserves voices that might otherwise be forgotten. As a veteran who served for two decades, I've always been drawn to military history – not for political reasons, but because these sites connect us to our shared human experience.
From the moment you step into the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, you're walking above a symbolic field of 9,000 poppies, each representing 1,000 combat deaths during that conflict. This museum isn't just a collection of artifacts – it's the result of passionate citizens who raised millions in just days following the war to ensure those sacrifices wouldn't be forgotten. The 80,000-square-foot facility houses over 300,000 items that tell the complete story of a war that fundamentally changed our world.
Military sites often reveal surprising stories, like the George Patton Museum I stumbled upon in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Created by a local man whose historical collection was once confiscated by Soviet authorities, this museum stands as a testament to truth – documenting how American forces, not Soviet troops as communist propaganda claimed, were the ones who liberated the region. Or consider the Palawan Special Battalion Memorial in the Philippines, which commemorates both Filipino guerrillas and American POWs who suffered horrifically under Japanese occupation.
American sites like Fort Pulaski in Georgia, with its 11-foot thick walls that proved vulnerable to new rifled artillery, and the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana, which now honors perspectives from both sides of that conflict, remind us that military history isn't just about tactics and weapons – it's about human ingenuity, courage, and the consequences of our actions.
This Memorial Day, between barbecues and sales, take a moment to remember those who died while serving. Better yet, plan a visit to one of these remarkable places where history comes alive. As the saying goes, those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it – and these museums ensure we never forget the full human cost of conflict.
Have you visited any military museums that moved you? Email editor@thetravelingfool.com and share your experience – I might feature it in an upcoming episode!
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Feel free to drop me an email I would love to hear from you editor@thetravellingfool.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi and welcome to the Traveling Fool, the show where
we explore the most intriguingaspects of travel, culture and
history.
I'm your host, bob Bales, andtoday, in honor of Memorial Day,
we are talking about some of myfavorite military-related
museums and sites.
So stay tuned and we'll beright back.
(00:21):
You know, even before I joinedthe military and spent 20 years
of my life there, I enjoyedmilitary history.
(00:45):
Whenever I travel anywhere, ifthere's no military site or
museum nearby, I'm going tovisit it if I can.
And before we start, let mejust say I don't care what your
political beliefs are or whetheryou agree or not with their
politics at the time.
To me, it's history, and I'vealways found it interesting From
(01:07):
the way they defended theirforts to the way they advanced
in battle, the stories of thesoldiers on both sides and what
they went through at the time.
Now, whether you agree with oneside or the other, to me it's
history.
As much as people want torewrite history or dispute the
facts, it's history.
As much as people want torewrite history or dispute the
(01:28):
facts.
The bottom line is that it'shistory.
You know, I think I got thisview when I was in high school
and I had one of the besthistory teachers ever, mrs
Briscoe.
She taught history the good,the bad, the uncomfortable, the
truth, without opinions onwhether it was right or wrong or
injecting her beliefs.
She just taught history.
(01:49):
I've always tried to look athistory and historic sites in
that light, and I've had theopportunity of visiting museums
and sites in several countriesaround the world, including the
Eagle's Nest in Burgess Garden,germany, and Hitler's bombed-out
home there, numerous World WarII bunkers and tunnels, military
cemeteries, old forts andbattlegrounds, and I'm going to
(02:12):
tell you about a few of myfavorite military sites and
museums to visit.
The first we're going to talkabout is the World War I Museum
in Kansas City, missouri.
You know, soon after World War Iended, kansas City leaders
formed the Liberty MemorialAssociation.
They did it to create a lastingmonument to the men and women
(02:36):
who had served in the war.
In 1919, the citizens of KansasCity raised more than two and a
half million dollars in just 10days.
You know that's the equivalentof more than 40 million today.
This staggering accomplishmentreflected the passion of public
sentiment for the Great War thathad dramatically changed the
(02:58):
world.
In 1921, more than 100,000people gathered to see the
Supreme Allied Commandersdedicate the site of the Liberty
Memorial.
This was the first time inhistory these five leaders were
together in one place.
Construction on the classicalEgyptian revival-style monument
(03:18):
was completed in 1926, and theLiberty Memorial was dedicated
by President Calvin Coolidge infront of more than 150,000
people.
The physical structure of theLiberty Memorial deteriorated
and it was closed in 1994 due tosafety concerns.
But once again, the citizens ofKansas City voiced their
(03:39):
support for the Liberty Memorialand in 1998, they passed a
limited-run sales tax to supportthe restoration.
In addition to reviving thememorial, plans took shape to
expand the site by building amuseum to better showcase the
World War I-related objects anddocuments that the memorial had
been collecting since 1920.
(04:00):
Thanks to the support of KansasCity and the state of Missouri
and the United States governmentand a generous individual
donors, more than $102 millionwas raised for the restoration
and expansion.
Official World War I museum andconstruction started on a new
(04:28):
80,000 square footstate-of-the-art museum and a
research center underneath theLiberty Memorial.
Today, the museum has 80,000square feet, the main gallery is
50,000 square feet and themuseum's exhibition space well.
It holds over 300,000 World WarI artifacts and I visited this
museum several years ago when Iwas on a trip to Minnesota.
(04:51):
I spent a couple of days inKansas City and I want to tell
you it is a fabulous, fabulousmuseum and the volunteers that
work there are highlyknowledgeable about all the
exhibits and all the events thathappened during World War I.
There's a lot of things therethat I did not know, even having
gone through a lot of historyclasses in school.
(05:12):
In addition, all kinds ofweapons and armaments.
There's stories about thesoldiers, stories about the
conflict, stories about how theylived, the battles and the
things that went on that led upto World War I, during World War
I and the aftermath.
It is a fabulous, fabulousmuseum and if you ever get a
(05:32):
chance, you need to stop by andvisit it.
I would plan on spending atleast four hours there, if not
the entire day, because youcould spend the entire day there
and still not see everythingthat they have Now.
Another of my favorite placesthat I've visited over the years
is Fort Pulaski in Savannah,georgia.
(05:55):
Now.
Fort Pulaski took 18 years tobuild, from 1829 to 1847.
In fact, there was a younglieutenant by the name of Robert
E Lee who was in charge ofsubstance and other planning
during the early construction ofthe fort.
The fort is surrounded by amoat seven to eight feet deep.
(06:16):
Fort Pulaski's walls tower are22 feet high inside and 32 feet
up from the outside moat.
There's a parade ground insideFort Pulaski that stretches out
over two acres.
The fort's walls averagebetween 5 and 11 feet thick,
(06:37):
made out of solid brick.
After the outbreak of the war,confederate troops occupied Fort
Pulaski from January 1861 toApril of 1862.
And that's when the only battleat Fort Pulaski ever took place
.
It occurred between April the10th and the 11th of 1862
between Union forces who werestationed on Tybee Island, which
(07:01):
is not that far away, andConfederate troops inside the
fort.
During that battle, the Unionforces used rifled cannons and
the US Army compelled theConfederate garrison inside Fort
Pulaski to surrender.
They were firing from just toofar away for the Confederate
artillery to reach them, and sothey sat there and pounded the
(07:24):
fort until the fort surrendered.
After that, union troopsoccupied Fort Pulaski from April
1862 until the end of the CivilWar.
It is a fabulous, fabulous fort,One of the very few examples of
Civil War forts still inexistence.
Most of them are along thesouthern coastline of the Gulf.
(07:48):
You've got some in Alabama,you've got some off of Georgia,
and this one is a fine exampleof the fort, how soldiers lived,
what they went through at thetime.
And Savannah also has Old FortJackson, which is a National
Historic Landmark, and the 8thAir Force Museum, which both are
(08:11):
fantastic as well.
And if you want to know aboutthe 8th Air Force, there's an
old movie in the it might havebeen in the 1950s, called 12
O'Clock High with Gregory Peck,and it details some of the
exploits of the 8th Air Force.
And the 8th Air Force Museum isa fascinating place to visit.
It tells you all about the 8thAir Force and everything that's
there as well.
(08:32):
But Fort Pulaski, if you everget a chance, stop by and visit
it.
You'll be amazed at how theybuilt this thing.
Now I've had the opportunity totravel a lot overseas, and one
time when I was in the CzechRepublic I don't know what it's
called now, they change names ofthese countries every now and
then, but back then it was theCzech Republic I was in Prague
(08:53):
and I had decided to visit thesmall town of Pilsen.
Why?
Well, because that's where theyinvented Pilsner beer and I
figured well, as long as I'mhere, I might as well see where
they invented Pilsner beer.
After I toured the brewery, Idecided to walk around downtown
and while I was down there, Idiscovered the George S Patton
(09:13):
Museum.
Now why in the world am Isitting there, thinking to
myself?
Well, they have a museumdedicated to US Army General
George Patton.
It's in a pretty nondescriptbuilding.
There was just a banner outsidethat said the George S Patton
Memorial Museum.
So I went in, walked upstairs towhere the museum was at and met
(09:34):
the gentleman that was runningthe place.
Come to find out.
He was the owner of the museumand we got to talking and he had
started collecting memorabiliawhen he was a kid and sometime
when he was in his teens,probably in the late 60s, early
70s, the Russians who wererunning Czech Republic at the
(09:56):
time confiscated all of hismemorabilia, or most of it,
about 95% of it, and took itfrom him.
He went and joined the military.
Well joined, drafted, whateveryou want to call it.
He spent some time in themilitary and afterwards he
decided to start collectingagain when the Russians left the
Czech Republic and he hadaccumulated a massive amount and
(10:20):
he told me.
He said you know, I wanted tobuild a museum to tell the story
of George Patton because whenwe were under Russian control,
their narrative was that theRussians had liberated the Czech
Republic from the Nazis.
He said that's not true.
George Patton actuallyliberated our town and the Czech
Republic from the Nazis, butthe Russians tried to rewrite
(10:43):
history.
His museum is fantastic.
It tells about life underSoviet control.
It tells about life duringWorld War II.
He had some weapons and things,but he also had a lot of things
just from early day life in theCzech Republic during that time
and also a lot of things aboutthe soldiers' lives, their
equipment, what they wentthrough, their manuals, their
(11:05):
books, all kinds of things.
It was a fascinating museum andto find a museum dedicated to
the US Army and General GeorgePatton in a foreign country was
just absolutely fascinating tome and we had a great time
talking.
He was a really nice guy and hetold me all about the museum
and gave me a personal tour ofthe museum.
When he found out I was aretired military and come to
(11:27):
find out during the time I wasstationed in Germany pretty
close to the border, he wasstationed sitting in a tower
looking at our side.
Who knows, maybe we werelooking at each other at the
time.
But if you're ever in Prague,pilsen is not that far away.
It's about a 45-minute trainride.
Maybe an hour Takes you to thesmall town of Pilsen.
(11:50):
You can tour the brewery, whichis a great tour to take, visit
the George Patton Museum, andthey've also got some catacombs
underneath the city, which ispretty interesting.
Another location overseas that Ivisited was the Palawan Special
Battalion World War II Memorial.
It's located on the island ofPalawan in the Philippines, and
(12:13):
why is it important?
Well, the guy that started thismuseum, his father, was a
Philippine guerrilla duringWorld War II fighting the
Japanese who had occupied thePhilippine islands.
The Special Battalion was hisunit and they caused a lot of
havoc with the Japanese blowingup convoys and ammo dumps and
(12:37):
things of this nature for quitea while and just disrupting
everyday life for the Japanese.
His father was eventuallycaptured and the Japanese
beheaded him.
So in honor of his father andin honor of the US military, he
built a museum and it tells thestory of armed conflict in the
Philippines from the times ofwhen Blackjack Pershing was
(13:00):
there in the early 1900s,through World War II, and also
tells the story of the executionof a bunch of American POWs who
were on the island of Palawanduring World War II, and that's
an interesting story in itselfbecause there was a prisoner of
war camp not far from the museum.
(13:20):
Now the location is actually acity park, but at the time it
was a prisoner of war camp thatthe Japanese ran, and when
MacArthur was getting ready tocome back into the Philippines
and liberate it from theJapanese, they were doing
bombing runs in the Philippines,getting ready for the
amphibious assaults.
Well, the Japanese knew he wascoming and they decided they
(13:43):
needed to get rid of prisonersof war, and so they decided to
execute them.
And the way they did it on theisland of Palawan was they blew
an air raid to get all theprisoners of war into these
little dugout bomb shelters,which were basically just a
little dugout tunnel in theground.
They then rolled 55-gallonbarrels of fuel into the
(14:06):
openings, lit them on fire and,as the POWs were trying to
escape, they gunned them down.
And this went on for severalhours, and out of all the
prisoners there I forget howmany exactly several hours.
And out of all the prisonersthere I forget how many exactly
there was something like eightor maybe 13 of them escaped down
to the water's edge, swamacross the bay, where Filipino
(14:27):
prisoners from another prisonthey call it the prison without
walls because there's nowhere togo so they just basically
wandered around and grew theirown food and there wasn't any
place for them to go.
They rescued the American POWsthat managed to escape and got
them back to US lines, and hetells the story of that along
(14:47):
with photos of the camp when itwas still a POW camp.
But the Palawan SpecialBattalion World War II Memorial
is fantastic and the Philippineshas a lot of sites from World
War II, to include Fort Santiagoin Manila, which was built by
the Spanish.
Later it was occupied by the USmilitary.
When the Japanese come in theytook it from the US military.
(15:10):
They kept US military prisonersin the dungeons below the fort
and when MacArthur came in andretook the Philippines, there
was the Battle of Manila and thefinal battle took place at Fort
Santiago, which is inside thewalled city of Intramuros.
There's a big, huge wall goingall around the city and Fort
(15:33):
Santiago sits at the very end ofit.
So the Americans took it backover again and now it's a big,
huge park.
It's been there for hundreds ofyears.
It's a beautiful fort.
There's also the ManilaAmerican Cemetery inside Fort
Bonifacio, which is not a fortanymore.
It's basically a place wherethey have a lot of really nice
(15:54):
high-rises and condos andshopping centers.
But the US Manila AmericanCemetery is located there and
the thing about it is it's runby the American Military
Cemetery or BattlefieldCommission that runs all the
American cemeteries fromArlington, the ones in France,
but the one in Manila isactually the largest US military
(16:16):
cemetery outside of the UnitedStates, which I did not know
until I visited the place.
And of course, off of the bay ofManila Bay, if you cross the
bay, you have the island ofCorregidor, which is where the
Japanese did their attack andCorregidor was the last to fall
and they had the infamous BatonDeath March after that.
(16:37):
So the Philippines has a lot ofhistoric sites.
But if you ever get a chance,if you're ever in the island of
Palawan, which a lot of peoplego to, they just go to the
northern part of the islandwhere it's absolutely stunningly
beautiful to all the resorts.
But in the town of PuertoPrincesa, which is where the
airport is, most people comeinto the airport and then they
(16:59):
take a bus or something to go upto the northern part of the
island, where everything'sbeautiful, but in Puerto
Princesa.
That's where the PalawanSpecial Battalion World War II
Memorial is located.
Now, coming back to the UnitedStates, another one of my
favorite places to visit was theLittle Bighorn Battleground in
Montana.
I visited this place probablythree or four years ago, maybe
(17:21):
five years ago now, andeverybody learns about Custer's
last stand in school, about howthe Custer was really
overconfident and the NativeAmerican tribes banded together
and pretty much just wiped himout and most of the 7th Cavalry.
But the Little BighornBattleground is fascinating,
(17:41):
visited it, took a tour of thebattleground.
It's a national park and thereis a small museum inside the
center and then you walk up thetop of the hill where the battle
took place and Custer had hislast stand.
Up.
There you can see thebattleground.
You can see they've got littlemarkers and crosses where
(18:04):
various members of the 7thCavalry fell and where the
attacks took place and how theyattacked them and finally wiped
him out.
There's also a Native Americanmemorial there that tells you
the story of the NativeAmericans and there's also a US
military cemetery there and it'sgot graves dating back from
(18:26):
that time, although none of the7th Cavalry are buried there,
but other US Cavalry soldiersare buried there.
There's Some burials from WorldWar I, world War II and even
Korea and Vietnam.
Now, because it's a fairlysmall cemetery, it's closed to
(18:48):
any more new burials, buteverything there is pretty
fascinating to visit that placeand it was a highlight that I
always wanted to visit theLittle Bighorn and I got a
chance to, and if you ever get achance to, you need to stop by
and visit it.
Plan on spending about two orthree hours there, because it's
well worth it.
(19:09):
Another one of my favoriteplaces is in my home state of
Texas, the Presidio, La Bahia,in Goliad, texas, goliad, texas
Now.
The Presidio was established in1749 during the Spanish
colonial period, and it wascrucial to the development of
(19:29):
Texas.
It played a role in the MexicanWar for Independence from Spain
.
The Presidio was also the siteof the Goliad Massacre, which
happened on Palm Sunday in Marchof 1836.
I'll tell you about that injust a second.
It is a national historiclandmark and a state historic
site and it is the most foughtover fort in Texas.
(19:50):
History.
Participating in six nationalrevolutions of wars for
independence Spanish, mexicanand Texas soldiers were all
garrisoned within its fortifiedwalls.
It's also operated by theCatholic Diocese of Victoria,
texas.
It has a chapel on the sitewhich continues to serve as a
community church, one of theoldest churches in America.
(20:13):
It's also one of the onlybuildings in existence that has
its original vaulted ceiling inplace.
A striking fresco behind thealtar was done there in 1946 by
a gentleman from Corpus Christi,texas, named Antonio Garcia,
known as the Michelangelo ofSouth Texas.
It's located in the niche abovethe chapel entrance.
(20:36):
There's also a statue of OurLady of Loreto, sculpted by
Dunnother that, lincoln Borglum.
He's the guy that oversaw thecompletion of Mount Rushmore,
and this century's old chapelwas where Fannin and his men
were held during part of theircaptivity before being massacred
.
(20:56):
Now the story of the GoliadMassacre is Colonel Fannin got
his men and was ready to go tothe Alamo to help defend the
Alamo.
They got just outside of Goliadto a place called Coleto Creek
and they ran into a Mexicanmilitary unit and the Mexicans
attacked them and they were justway overwhelmed.
(21:18):
He lost a couple of men anddecided to surrender.
They were just way overwhelmed.
He lost a couple of men anddecided to surrender.
So the Mexican in chargeofficer in charge, took them to
La Bahia, notified Santa Ana.
He says hey, we've capturedColonel Fannin.
Santa Ana come back and saidkill them, kill all of them.
So on Palm Sunday in 1836, theytook them out and killed all of
(21:39):
them.
They're in fact buried in amass grave just outside the
walls of La Bahia.
Now, the first Declaration ofTexas Independence was also
signed inside that chapel.
La Bahia is one of the mostwell-preserved Spanish forts in
the United States.
And it's not a mission, it wasactually a fort and today you
(21:59):
can visit it.
In fact you can even spend thenight there.
They've turned the officers'quarters into a two-bedroom
apartment where you can book anight, stay the night there and
somewhere around 4 or 5 o'clockthey lock the doors and you are
inside and have the entire BahiaPresidio to yourself.
(22:20):
Now there may be a few ghostswalking around.
I don't know.
Personally I don't know aboutghosts.
Man, every time I go visitsomeplace they say is haunted,
nothing ever bothers me, somaybe they just don't like me.
But I get a good night's sleep.
But there's been a lot ofpeople who have spent the night
there that said that they weredisturbed by things.
But if you ever get a chance,go to Goliad, which is a small
(22:42):
town kind of southeast of SanAntonio, visit the La Bahia, and
if you want to spend the nightyou need to book that room,
though in advance, like severalmonths in advance, because it
seems to be always booked.
Normally you have to go out twoto three months to get a room
there, and you know there's alot of other military sites and
(23:06):
museums that I've visited.
One here in Texas is fantastic.
They've changed the name of ita couple of times.
Last time I checked it was theMuseum of the American Soldier.
They've got something like twoto three hundred vehicles and
aircraft, helicopters.
They've also got tanks andother stuff.
The unique thing about it isevery single piece of equipment
(23:28):
operates.
They've got them all in workingorder.
They fly the helicopters, theycan drive the tanks, all the
trucks, all the jeeps,everything.
It's a fascinating museum tovisit.
Places like the Gurkha Museum inPokhara, nepal.
Gurkhas are some of the mostfiercest fighting soldiers
(23:49):
around, been around for hundredsof years.
They came from the Gorkharegion of Nepal and they guarded
the king of Nepal back whenthere was a king.
Since then they've got Gurkharegiments in the Indian military
and also in the Britishmilitary.
When I was a contractor workingoverseas in the Middle East, we
actually had a unit of Gurkhasoldiers that were guarding the
(24:13):
fort.
Trust me, I felt very secure.
The Airborne and Special Forces, or Special Operations, museum
at Fort Bragg, north Carolina,is also another fantastic museum
to visit.
A lot of these Army museums orAir Force or Marine Corps
museums or whatever Navy museumsare all inside the base so it's
(24:34):
very difficult to get to themunless you have authorization to
enter the base.
But the Airborne and SpecialOperations Museum at Fort Bragg
is located outside the base soit's easy access to get to it.
Gettysburg is another fantasticplace I've visited.
You know Memorial Day in the USwas originally called Decoration
(24:54):
Day.
It was formalized by a MemorialDay order issued by the Grand
Army of the RepublicCommander-in-Chief John Logan in
1868, and it was a day toremember and reflect on those
service members that died whileserving in the US military.
So, regardless of your views onany particular war this year,
(25:16):
take a few minutes in betweenthe barbecues and shopping and
all the sales going on toremember all those over the
years that died while servingthe country and, if you haven't,
add some of these militarymuseums and battlefield sites to
your trips.
Put them on there and checkthem out, because, like I said,
it's history, and the more weknow about history, then the
(25:39):
chances of repeating some of thebad things that have happened
over the years are a lot less.
But that's it for this week.
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you get a chance to get outthere and travel, then by all
means do it.
I'm getting ready to go onseveral trips myself and next
week I'm going to tell you abouta place on the foothills of the
(25:59):
Blue Ridge Mountains.
I was really surprised andpleased when I visited this
place.
So that's it for this week.
If you can leave a review, dropme a line at the editor at the
Traveling Fool.
Let me know what you want tohear in some of these future
podcasts, or tell me about someplaces that you've visited that
(26:19):
were military related.
I may talk about them in afuture podcast.
So until next time, safetravels, thank you.
Hi and welcome to the Traveling Fool, the show where
we explore the most intriguingaspects of travel, culture and
history.
I'm your host, bob Bales, andtoday, in honor of Memorial Day,
we are talking about some of myfavorite military-related
museums and sites.
So stay tuned and we'll beright back.
(00:21):
You know, even before I joinedthe military and spent 20 years
of my life there, I enjoyedmilitary history.
(00:45):
Whenever I travel anywhere, ifthere's no military site or
museum nearby, I'm going tovisit it if I can.
And before we start, let mejust say I don't care what your
political beliefs are or whetheryou agree or not with their
politics at the time.
To me, it's history, and I'vealways found it interesting From
(01:07):
the way they defended theirforts to the way they advanced
in battle, the stories of thesoldiers on both sides and what
they went through at the time.
Now, whether you agree with oneside or the other, to me it's
history.
As much as people want torewrite history or dispute the
facts, it's history.
As much as people want torewrite history or dispute the
(01:28):
facts.
The bottom line is that it'shistory.
You know, I think I got thisview when I was in high school
and I had one of the besthistory teachers ever, mrs
Briscoe.
She taught history the good,the bad, the uncomfortable, the
truth, without opinions onwhether it was right or wrong or
injecting her beliefs.
She just taught history.
(01:49):
I've always tried to look athistory and historic sites in
that light, and I've had theopportunity of visiting museums
and sites in several countriesaround the world, including the
Eagle's Nest in Burgess Garden,germany, and Hitler's bombed-out
home there, numerous World WarII bunkers and tunnels, military
cemeteries, old forts andbattlegrounds, and I'm going to
(02:12):
tell you about a few of myfavorite military sites and
museums to visit.
The first we're going to talkabout is the World War I Museum
in Kansas City, missouri.
You know, soon after World War Iended, kansas City leaders
formed the Liberty MemorialAssociation.
They did it to create a lastingmonument to the men and women
(02:36):
who had served in the war.
In 1919, the citizens of KansasCity raised more than two and a
half million dollars in just 10days.
You know that's the equivalentof more than 40 million today.
This staggering accomplishmentreflected the passion of public
sentiment for the Great War thathad dramatically changed the
(02:58):
world.
In 1921, more than 100,000people gathered to see the
Supreme Allied Commandersdedicate the site of the Liberty
Memorial.
This was the first time inhistory these five leaders were
together in one place.
Construction on the classicalEgyptian revival-style monument
(03:18):
was completed in 1926, and theLiberty Memorial was dedicated
by President Calvin Coolidge infront of more than 150,000
people.
The physical structure of theLiberty Memorial deteriorated
and it was closed in 1994 due tosafety concerns.
But once again, the citizens ofKansas City voiced their
(03:39):
support for the Liberty Memorialand in 1998, they passed a
limited-run sales tax to supportthe restoration.
In addition to reviving thememorial, plans took shape to
expand the site by building amuseum to better showcase the
World War I-related objects anddocuments that the memorial had
been collecting since 1920.
(04:00):
Thanks to the support of KansasCity and the state of Missouri
and the United States governmentand a generous individual
donors, more than $102 millionwas raised for the restoration
and expansion.
Official World War I museum andconstruction started on a new
(04:28):
80,000 square footstate-of-the-art museum and a
research center underneath theLiberty Memorial.
Today, the museum has 80,000square feet, the main gallery is
50,000 square feet and themuseum's exhibition space well.
It holds over 300,000 World WarI artifacts and I visited this
museum several years ago when Iwas on a trip to Minnesota.
(04:51):
I spent a couple of days inKansas City and I want to tell
you it is a fabulous, fabulousmuseum and the volunteers that
work there are highlyknowledgeable about all the
exhibits and all the events thathappened during World War I.
There's a lot of things therethat I did not know, even having
gone through a lot of historyclasses in school.
(05:12):
In addition, all kinds ofweapons and armaments.
There's stories about thesoldiers, stories about the
conflict, stories about how theylived, the battles and the
things that went on that led upto World War I, during World War
I and the aftermath.
It is a fabulous, fabulousmuseum and if you ever get a
(05:32):
chance, you need to stop by andvisit it.
I would plan on spending atleast four hours there, if not
the entire day, because youcould spend the entire day there
and still not see everythingthat they have Now.
Another of my favorite placesthat I've visited over the years
is Fort Pulaski in Savannah,georgia.
(05:55):
Now.
Fort Pulaski took 18 years tobuild, from 1829 to 1847.
In fact, there was a younglieutenant by the name of Robert
E Lee who was in charge ofsubstance and other planning
during the early construction ofthe fort.
The fort is surrounded by amoat seven to eight feet deep.
(06:16):
Fort Pulaski's walls tower are22 feet high inside and 32 feet
up from the outside moat.
There's a parade ground insideFort Pulaski that stretches out
over two acres.
The fort's walls averagebetween 5 and 11 feet thick,
(06:37):
made out of solid brick.
After the outbreak of the war,confederate troops occupied Fort
Pulaski from January 1861 toApril of 1862.
And that's when the only battleat Fort Pulaski ever took place
.
It occurred between April the10th and the 11th of 1862
between Union forces who werestationed on Tybee Island, which
(07:01):
is not that far away, andConfederate troops inside the
fort.
During that battle, the Unionforces used rifled cannons and
the US Army compelled theConfederate garrison inside Fort
Pulaski to surrender.
They were firing from just toofar away for the Confederate
artillery to reach them, and sothey sat there and pounded the
(07:24):
fort until the fort surrendered.
After that, union troopsoccupied Fort Pulaski from April
1862 until the end of the CivilWar.
It is a fabulous, fabulous fort,One of the very few examples of
Civil War forts still inexistence.
Most of them are along thesouthern coastline of the Gulf.
(07:48):
You've got some in Alabama,you've got some off of Georgia,
and this one is a fine exampleof the fort, how soldiers lived,
what they went through at thetime.
And Savannah also has Old FortJackson, which is a National
Historic Landmark, and the 8thAir Force Museum, which both are
(08:11):
fantastic as well.
And if you want to know aboutthe 8th Air Force, there's an
old movie in the it might havebeen in the 1950s, called 12
O'Clock High with Gregory Peck,and it details some of the
exploits of the 8th Air Force.
And the 8th Air Force Museum isa fascinating place to visit.
It tells you all about the 8thAir Force and everything that's
there as well.
(08:32):
But Fort Pulaski, if you everget a chance, stop by and visit
it.
You'll be amazed at how theybuilt this thing.
Now I've had the opportunity totravel a lot overseas, and one
time when I was in the CzechRepublic I don't know what it's
called now, they change names ofthese countries every now and
then, but back then it was theCzech Republic I was in Prague
(08:53):
and I had decided to visit thesmall town of Pilsen.
Why?
Well, because that's where theyinvented Pilsner beer and I
figured well, as long as I'mhere, I might as well see where
they invented Pilsner beer.
After I toured the brewery, Idecided to walk around downtown
and while I was down there, Idiscovered the George S Patton
(09:13):
Museum.
Now why in the world am Isitting there, thinking to
myself?
Well, they have a museumdedicated to US Army General
George Patton.
It's in a pretty nondescriptbuilding.
There was just a banner outsidethat said the George S Patton
Memorial Museum.
So I went in, walked upstairs towhere the museum was at and met
(09:34):
the gentleman that was runningthe place.
Come to find out.
He was the owner of the museumand we got to talking and he had
started collecting memorabiliawhen he was a kid and sometime
when he was in his teens,probably in the late 60s, early
70s, the Russians who wererunning Czech Republic at the
(09:56):
time confiscated all of hismemorabilia, or most of it,
about 95% of it, and took itfrom him.
He went and joined the military.
Well joined, drafted, whateveryou want to call it.
He spent some time in themilitary and afterwards he
decided to start collectingagain when the Russians left the
Czech Republic and he hadaccumulated a massive amount and
(10:20):
he told me.
He said you know, I wanted tobuild a museum to tell the story
of George Patton because whenwe were under Russian control,
their narrative was that theRussians had liberated the Czech
Republic from the Nazis.
He said that's not true.
George Patton actuallyliberated our town and the Czech
Republic from the Nazis, butthe Russians tried to rewrite
(10:43):
history.
His museum is fantastic.
It tells about life underSoviet control.
It tells about life duringWorld War II.
He had some weapons and things,but he also had a lot of things
just from early day life in theCzech Republic during that time
and also a lot of things aboutthe soldiers' lives, their
equipment, what they wentthrough, their manuals, their
(11:05):
books, all kinds of things.
It was a fascinating museum andto find a museum dedicated to
the US Army and General GeorgePatton in a foreign country was
just absolutely fascinating tome and we had a great time
talking.
He was a really nice guy and hetold me all about the museum
and gave me a personal tour ofthe museum.
When he found out I was aretired military and come to
(11:27):
find out during the time I wasstationed in Germany pretty
close to the border, he wasstationed sitting in a tower
looking at our side.
Who knows, maybe we werelooking at each other at the
time.
But if you're ever in Prague,pilsen is not that far away.
It's about a 45-minute trainride.
Maybe an hour Takes you to thesmall town of Pilsen.
(11:50):
You can tour the brewery, whichis a great tour to take, visit
the George Patton Museum, andthey've also got some catacombs
underneath the city, which ispretty interesting.
Another location overseas that Ivisited was the Palawan Special
Battalion World War II Memorial.
It's located on the island ofPalawan in the Philippines, and
(12:13):
why is it important?
Well, the guy that started thismuseum, his father, was a
Philippine guerrilla duringWorld War II fighting the
Japanese who had occupied thePhilippine islands.
The Special Battalion was hisunit and they caused a lot of
havoc with the Japanese blowingup convoys and ammo dumps and
(12:37):
things of this nature for quitea while and just disrupting
everyday life for the Japanese.
His father was eventuallycaptured and the Japanese
beheaded him.
So in honor of his father andin honor of the US military, he
built a museum and it tells thestory of armed conflict in the
Philippines from the times ofwhen Blackjack Pershing was
(13:00):
there in the early 1900s,through World War II, and also
tells the story of the executionof a bunch of American POWs who
were on the island of Palawanduring World War II, and that's
an interesting story in itselfbecause there was a prisoner of
war camp not far from the museum.
(13:20):
Now the location is actually acity park, but at the time it
was a prisoner of war camp thatthe Japanese ran, and when
MacArthur was getting ready tocome back into the Philippines
and liberate it from theJapanese, they were doing
bombing runs in the Philippines,getting ready for the
amphibious assaults.
Well, the Japanese knew he wascoming and they decided they
(13:43):
needed to get rid of prisonersof war, and so they decided to
execute them.
And the way they did it on theisland of Palawan was they blew
an air raid to get all theprisoners of war into these
little dugout bomb shelters,which were basically just a
little dugout tunnel in theground.
They then rolled 55-gallonbarrels of fuel into the
(14:06):
openings, lit them on fire and,as the POWs were trying to
escape, they gunned them down.
And this went on for severalhours, and out of all the
prisoners there I forget howmany exactly several hours.
And out of all the prisonersthere I forget how many exactly
there was something like eightor maybe 13 of them escaped down
to the water's edge, swamacross the bay, where Filipino
(14:27):
prisoners from another prisonthey call it the prison without
walls because there's nowhere togo so they just basically
wandered around and grew theirown food and there wasn't any
place for them to go.
They rescued the American POWsthat managed to escape and got
them back to US lines, and hetells the story of that along
(14:47):
with photos of the camp when itwas still a POW camp.
But the Palawan SpecialBattalion World War II Memorial
is fantastic and the Philippineshas a lot of sites from World
War II, to include Fort Santiagoin Manila, which was built by
the Spanish.
Later it was occupied by the USmilitary.
When the Japanese come in theytook it from the US military.
(15:10):
They kept US military prisonersin the dungeons below the fort
and when MacArthur came in andretook the Philippines, there
was the Battle of Manila and thefinal battle took place at Fort
Santiago, which is inside thewalled city of Intramuros.
There's a big, huge wall goingall around the city and Fort
(15:33):
Santiago sits at the very end ofit.
So the Americans took it backover again and now it's a big,
huge park.
It's been there for hundreds ofyears.
It's a beautiful fort.
There's also the ManilaAmerican Cemetery inside Fort
Bonifacio, which is not a fortanymore.
It's basically a place wherethey have a lot of really nice
(15:54):
high-rises and condos andshopping centers.
But the US Manila AmericanCemetery is located there and
the thing about it is it's runby the American Military
Cemetery or BattlefieldCommission that runs all the
American cemeteries fromArlington, the ones in France,
but the one in Manila isactually the largest US military
(16:16):
cemetery outside of the UnitedStates, which I did not know
until I visited the place.
And of course, off of the bay ofManila Bay, if you cross the
bay, you have the island ofCorregidor, which is where the
Japanese did their attack andCorregidor was the last to fall
and they had the infamous BatonDeath March after that.
(16:37):
So the Philippines has a lot ofhistoric sites.
But if you ever get a chance,if you're ever in the island of
Palawan, which a lot of peoplego to, they just go to the
northern part of the islandwhere it's absolutely stunningly
beautiful to all the resorts.
But in the town of PuertoPrincesa, which is where the
airport is, most people comeinto the airport and then they
(16:59):
take a bus or something to go upto the northern part of the
island, where everything'sbeautiful, but in Puerto
Princesa.
That's where the PalawanSpecial Battalion World War II
Memorial is located.
Now, coming back to the UnitedStates, another one of my
favorite places to visit was theLittle Bighorn Battleground in
Montana.
I visited this place probablythree or four years ago, maybe
(17:21):
five years ago now, andeverybody learns about Custer's
last stand in school, about howthe Custer was really
overconfident and the NativeAmerican tribes banded together
and pretty much just wiped himout and most of the 7th Cavalry.
But the Little BighornBattleground is fascinating,
(17:41):
visited it, took a tour of thebattleground.
It's a national park and thereis a small museum inside the
center and then you walk up thetop of the hill where the battle
took place and Custer had hislast stand.
Up.
There you can see thebattleground.
You can see they've got littlemarkers and crosses where
(18:04):
various members of the 7thCavalry fell and where the
attacks took place and how theyattacked them and finally wiped
him out.
There's also a Native Americanmemorial there that tells you
the story of the NativeAmericans and there's also a US
military cemetery there and it'sgot graves dating back from
(18:26):
that time, although none of the7th Cavalry are buried there,
but other US Cavalry soldiersare buried there.
There's Some burials from WorldWar I, world War II and even
Korea and Vietnam.
Now, because it's a fairlysmall cemetery, it's closed to
(18:48):
any more new burials, buteverything there is pretty
fascinating to visit that placeand it was a highlight that I
always wanted to visit theLittle Bighorn and I got a
chance to, and if you ever get achance to, you need to stop by
and visit it.
Plan on spending about two orthree hours there, because it's
well worth it.
(19:09):
Another one of my favoriteplaces is in my home state of
Texas, the Presidio, La Bahia,in Goliad, texas, goliad, texas
Now.
The Presidio was established in1749 during the Spanish
colonial period, and it wascrucial to the development of
(19:29):
Texas.
It played a role in the MexicanWar for Independence from Spain
.
The Presidio was also the siteof the Goliad Massacre, which
happened on Palm Sunday in Marchof 1836.
I'll tell you about that injust a second.
It is a national historiclandmark and a state historic
site and it is the most foughtover fort in Texas.
(19:50):
History.
Participating in six nationalrevolutions of wars for
independence Spanish, mexicanand Texas soldiers were all
garrisoned within its fortifiedwalls.
It's also operated by theCatholic Diocese of Victoria,
texas.
It has a chapel on the sitewhich continues to serve as a
community church, one of theoldest churches in America.
(20:13):
It's also one of the onlybuildings in existence that has
its original vaulted ceiling inplace.
A striking fresco behind thealtar was done there in 1946 by
a gentleman from Corpus Christi,texas, named Antonio Garcia,
known as the Michelangelo ofSouth Texas.
It's located in the niche abovethe chapel entrance.
(20:36):
There's also a statue of OurLady of Loreto, sculpted by
Dunnother that, lincoln Borglum.
He's the guy that oversaw thecompletion of Mount Rushmore,
and this century's old chapelwas where Fannin and his men
were held during part of theircaptivity before being massacred
.
(20:56):
Now the story of the GoliadMassacre is Colonel Fannin got
his men and was ready to go tothe Alamo to help defend the
Alamo.
They got just outside of Goliadto a place called Coleto Creek
and they ran into a Mexicanmilitary unit and the Mexicans
attacked them and they were justway overwhelmed.
(21:18):
He lost a couple of men anddecided to surrender.
They were just way overwhelmed.
He lost a couple of men anddecided to surrender.
So the Mexican in chargeofficer in charge, took them to
La Bahia, notified Santa Ana.
He says hey, we've capturedColonel Fannin.
Santa Ana come back and saidkill them, kill all of them.
So on Palm Sunday in 1836, theytook them out and killed all of
(21:39):
them.
They're in fact buried in amass grave just outside the
walls of La Bahia.
Now, the first Declaration ofTexas Independence was also
signed inside that chapel.
La Bahia is one of the mostwell-preserved Spanish forts in
the United States.
And it's not a mission, it wasactually a fort and today you
(21:59):
can visit it.
In fact you can even spend thenight there.
They've turned the officers'quarters into a two-bedroom
apartment where you can book anight, stay the night there and
somewhere around 4 or 5 o'clockthey lock the doors and you are
inside and have the entire BahiaPresidio to yourself.
(22:20):
Now there may be a few ghostswalking around.
I don't know.
Personally I don't know aboutghosts.
Man, every time I go visitsomeplace they say is haunted,
nothing ever bothers me, somaybe they just don't like me.
But I get a good night's sleep.
But there's been a lot ofpeople who have spent the night
there that said that they weredisturbed by things.
But if you ever get a chance,go to Goliad, which is a small
(22:42):
town kind of southeast of SanAntonio, visit the La Bahia, and
if you want to spend the nightyou need to book that room,
though in advance, like severalmonths in advance, because it
seems to be always booked.
Normally you have to go out twoto three months to get a room
there, and you know there's alot of other military sites and
(23:06):
museums that I've visited.
One here in Texas is fantastic.
They've changed the name of ita couple of times.
Last time I checked it was theMuseum of the American Soldier.
They've got something like twoto three hundred vehicles and
aircraft, helicopters.
They've also got tanks andother stuff.
The unique thing about it isevery single piece of equipment
(23:28):
operates.
They've got them all in workingorder.
They fly the helicopters, theycan drive the tanks, all the
trucks, all the jeeps,everything.
It's a fascinating museum tovisit.
Places like the Gurkha Museum inPokhara, nepal.
Gurkhas are some of the mostfiercest fighting soldiers
(23:49):
around, been around for hundredsof years.
They came from the Gorkharegion of Nepal and they guarded
the king of Nepal back whenthere was a king.
Since then they've got Gurkharegiments in the Indian military
and also in the Britishmilitary.
When I was a contractor workingoverseas in the Middle East, we
actually had a unit of Gurkhasoldiers that were guarding the
(24:13):
fort.
Trust me, I felt very secure.
The Airborne and Special Forces, or Special Operations, museum
at Fort Bragg, north Carolina,is also another fantastic museum
to visit.
A lot of these Army museums orAir Force or Marine Corps
museums or whatever Navy museumsare all inside the base so it's
(24:34):
very difficult to get to themunless you have authorization to
enter the base.
But the Airborne and SpecialOperations Museum at Fort Bragg
is located outside the base soit's easy access to get to it.
Gettysburg is another fantasticplace I've visited.
You know Memorial Day in the USwas originally called Decoration
(24:54):
Day.
It was formalized by a MemorialDay order issued by the Grand
Army of the RepublicCommander-in-Chief John Logan in
1868, and it was a day toremember and reflect on those
service members that died whileserving in the US military.
So, regardless of your views onany particular war this year,
(25:16):
take a few minutes in betweenthe barbecues and shopping and
all the sales going on toremember all those over the
years that died while servingthe country and, if you haven't,
add some of these militarymuseums and battlefield sites to
your trips.
Put them on there and checkthem out, because, like I said,
it's history, and the more weknow about history, then the
(25:39):
chances of repeating some of thebad things that have happened
over the years are a lot less.
But that's it for this week.
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you get a chance to get outthere and travel, then by all
means do it.
I'm getting ready to go onseveral trips myself and next
week I'm going to tell you abouta place on the foothills of the
(25:59):
Blue Ridge Mountains.
I was really surprised andpleased when I visited this
place.
So that's it for this week.
If you can leave a review, dropme a line at the editor at the
Traveling Fool.
Let me know what you want tohear in some of these future
podcasts, or tell me about someplaces that you've visited that
(26:19):
were military related.
I may talk about them in afuture podcast.
So until next time, safetravels, thank you.
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