‘He was a part of our lives:’ Loved ones memorialized in granite at KC’s WWI Museum
An engraved heart helped Martha Burt spot the newly installed brick honoring her late husband, Gene, out of the almost 10,000 memorial blocks at the National World War I Museum and Memorial.
Martha’s three adult daughters surprised her with the brick to honor their dad, a longtime museum volunteer. The group braved a persistent drizzle to attend the Memorial Day dedication for new engraved granite blocks on the museum’s Walk of Honor.
The family remembered Gene Burt putting on his blue volunteer shirt and stopping for QuikTrip donuts on his way to the museum every week.
A history lover, Gene had volunteered more than 2,000 hours before he died of cancer last spring. Some of Gene’s fellow “Thursday group” volunteers attended his funeral.
Martha teared up sharing her memories of her husband telling visitors about the poppies in the museum lobby.
“He loved the people coming in and saying something to them to help their stay, and help them enjoy it,” she said.
The Walk of Honor dedication allowed the Burt family to remember their father and husband.
“He was a part of our lives. The biggest part,” Martha said.
Civilians, like Gene Burt, and veterans alike are honored on the Liberty Memorial’s Walk of Honor.
Approximately 300 people attended the dedication ceremony, which took place in the auditorium and spilled out into a full overflow room. The ceremony included speeches and a slideshow of each person honored on the 97 granite bricks, which start at $300.
People come to the Liberty Memorial solely to see their loved ones on the bricks, said Karis Erwin, vice president of marketing and guest service for the museum.
She spoke of a family member attending Monday’s event, which helped bring a ceremonial end to his time serving in the Vietnam War.
“For him to have an opportunity to honor that commitment that he made so many decades ago, and to have a room full of people celebrating that, I think is really great closure for him,” Erwin said.
Memorial Day marks the beginning of the busy months for the National World War I Museum and Memorial. During the summer, the museum sees many out of town visitors, after three seasons of mostly school groups and local visitors.
This year local visitors will get a summer deal. From June 1 through Sept. 1, Kansas City area residents can purchase discounted $10 tickets that grant access to the main museum, special exhibits and the Liberty Memorial observation deck.
This story was originally published May 26, 2025 at 9:01 PM.
