Fifty years ago this week 60,000 World War I veterans and servicemen marched through the streets of Kansas City while the military leaders of the Allied nations looked on. The occasion was the national convention of the American Legion and the dedication of the site of the Liberty Memorial. A flag-draped reviewing stand adjacent to The Kansas City Star building at 18th and Grand is shown with people packed to catch a glimpse of the distinguished guests and the five military leaders: Marshal Foch, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces; Admiral Earl Beatty, commander of the British navy; Baron Jacques, commander-in-chief of the Belgian army; Gen. Armando Diaz, commander-in-chief of the Italian army, and Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force. The public schools of Greater Kansas City were dismissed for the day and pupils with their teachers rode the street cars to designated reserved curbside spots along the line of march. Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, idol of the Legion, opened the convention, which was held in Convention Hall, by singing The Star Spangled Banner. She held an American flag which she waved during dramatic moments of the anthem. Kansas City Times, November 6, 1971.
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