KU plans rededication ceremony for WWI memorial

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas will rededicate David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium to honor 130 Jayhawks who gave their lives during World War I.

The public is invited to a rededication ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 29. The ceremony will take place on the Garlinghouse Plaza outside the new convention center on the northeast side of the stadium. The ceremony will include remarks by Chancellor Douglas A. Girod; retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Mike Denning, assistant vice chancellor for national defense initiatives; and Col. Jabari Miller, deputy commanding officer – maneuver for the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division.

“I encourage veterans, active military, reservists, KU community members and the general public to join us in honoring the Jayhawks who made the ultimate sacrifice, as we open a new chapter in the storied history of this World War I memorial stadium,” Girod said. “The rededicated memorial reflects our commitment to remembering those Jayhawks and upholding the ideals they defended.”

The new memorial walk features aluminum panels with the names of the 130 KU students and faculty who died, along with select stories of Jayhawk service during the war. Additional panels feature historical information, including a timeline and map of key battles of the war.

Christopher Warren, vice president of curatorial affairs and chief curator at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, consulted with the university on creation of the memorial. Multistudio, KU’s partner on the Gateway District project, created the artwork and final design of the memorial panels. U.S. Army Capt. Harrison Manlove, a KU graduate, conducted much of the research about the 130 students while he was an ROTC student. Through his research, Manlove identified an additional person who was not originally included in KU’s WWI memorial listings.

“The memorial and the informational plaques remind us that the freedoms we enjoy today were built on generations of sacrifice. At the heart of being a Jayhawk is a tradition of selfless service — the very spirit embodied in the 130 names and stories etched into the memorial. Through this remembrance, their legacy remains vivid and tangible, inspiring every generation to honor their example,” Denning said.

The rededication of Kansas Memorial Stadium follows a two-year renovation and construction project that included the stadium and a new convention center. The stadium was initially completed in 1922 and dedicated as KU’s first WWI memorial on Armistice Day, Nov. 11 that year. A number of major renovations over the past 103 years have expanded and updated the stadium.

Although dedicated in honor of KU students who died serving in the war, the stadium itself did not previously have a memorial installation or monument. Instead, plaques in the Kansas Memorial Union honor students and faculty who died serving in WWI. Memorial Stadium is one of six memorials honoring Jayhawks who served. The memorials are Kansas Memorial Union and the Victory Eagle, dedicated to World War I; the Campanile, dedicated to World War II; the Korean War memorial and the Vietnam War memorial.

Due to the football game scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29, Lawrence campus parking lots and the Mississippi Parking Garage will be closed to faculty, staff, student and visitor parking. Eleventh Street between Maine and Illinois streets will also be closed to traffic. Parking will be available at no charge in the Allen Fieldhouse Parking Garage with shuttle buses to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Visit the rededication event parking site for more information.