After Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae saw poppies growing in a battle-scorched field in Waregem, Belgium, he was inspired to pen the poem “In Flanders Fields”. Since then, poppies have become the traditional symbol of remembrance for our fallen soldiers. So, on this Memorial Day I thought it fitting to revisit two light shows featuring the poppy.
The nation’s only memorial and museum dedicated “in honor of those who served in World War One in defense of liberty and our country” is Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial. And in recent years its 217-foot-tall tower has served as a canvas for two light shows featuring the poppy.
The first was in 2018 marking the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marking the “War to End All Wars”. The light show ran for nine days and was viewed by tens of thousands.
Over 5,000 poppies illuminating both the Liberty Tower and Liberty Memorial base (part of the National World War I Museum) were created by nearly 55 million pixels and 800,000 lumens. Every 15-minutes a special presentation is shown on the base displaying images and history about World War I.
To honor our nation’s veterans, the second light show installation was commissioned by the Liberty Museum and Memorial in conjunction with the NFL Draft that was held in Kansas City at Union Station in 2023. It was titled “Horizons” and was designed by Kathy Pittala, a lifelong Kansas City area resident and the Graphic Designer at the Liberty National WWI Museum and Memorial.
