Last Monday was the 100th anniversary of the first American officer to be killed in WWI–Burlington native 1st Lieutenant William T. Fitzsimons.  Steve Fry of the Topeka Capital-Journal wrote about him, and interviewed Jim Heiman, who has authored a book on the WWI monuments and memorials in the Kansas City area.

To read the article, click here:  http://cjonline.com/news/local/2017-08-28/100-years-later-first-officer-killed-ww1-was-doctor-kansas

 

Blair Tarr is the Museum Curator of the Kansas State Historical Society. He oversees the three-dimensional collections of the Society, but has special interests in the Civil War, Wichita-made Valentine diners, and Leavenworth's Abernathy Furniture. In the last few years he has also done a lot of cramming on The Great War. He is a past president of the Kansas Museums Association and the Civil War Round Tables of both Kansas City and Eastern Kansas. He is currently a board member of the Heritage League of Greater Kansas City.