Museum After Hours

The Doughboy’s Life in Battle

By Dr. Richard Faulkner, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College

6:30 p.m. Friday, November 9, 2018

Kansas Museum of History · Topeka

World War I caught a generation of American soldiers at a turning point in the nation’s history. At the moment of the Republic’s emergence as a key player on the world stage, these were the first Americans to endure mass machine warfare, and the first to come into close contact with foreign peoples and cultures in large numbers. What was it like to be one of these foot soldiers at the dawn of the American century? How did the doughboy experience the rigors of training and military life, interact with different cultures, and endure the shock and chaos of combat?

The Kansas Museum of History is open until 6:30 p.m., admission is half price after 5 p.m. The Museum Store is also open until 6:30 p.m.

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.