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Uncommon Words: World War I battle trench leads Hoover into humanitarian effort
by Jerry Fleagle, Hoover Association · Op-Ed · June 18, 2015
Hopefully you’ve read our previous accounts about the 3-D immersive film, the Belgian Village and Herbert Hoover the humanitarian as I’ve described The Making of the Great Humanitarian exhibit at the Presidential Library-Museum and Hoover National Historic Site.
By now, you may also have heard about the World War I battle trench as well. It seems to be the first thing people talk about after viewing the exhibit!
The excitement does not come as a surprise. It’s not the first trench to be displayed at the Library-Museum — although it is the largest. The first trench was built in 1989 and recorded over 80,000 visitors to the exhibit. By today’s standards, it was low-tech. Our modern version contains 18 speakers with two large subwoofers, over a dozen lights, including strobes and LED’s of various colors that simulate the flash of explosions and machine gun fire. It takes over 6000 lines of computer code to direct the timing and five different actor voices are used for the guards.
Trench visitors seem to appreciate the effort put into the special effects. They may select the ‘green button’ educational experience, which describes various attributes of the battle and shows mild war footage, or the ‘red button’ option, which includes a full scale attack scenario immediately following the educational segment.
At a certain point in the full scale attack, a particularly large explosion goes off and hidden fans send a blast of air over the visitors like a shock wave. That’s when we hear a long ‘Whooooooa’ in unison from school groups on the tour. The guards will also yell at you to ‘Keep your heads down!’ if you try to sneak a peek over the trench wall.
The new trench is substantially larger, too. Measuring 13 feet wide by 51 feet long, it features two guard stations with animatronic soldiers, sleeping quarters, a first aid station with two additional animated guards and 12 periscope video stations to view the battle. It is also handicap accessible.
But why a battle trench in a humanitarian exhibit? Let me share a couple of reasons. First, World War I was the catalyst that set Herbert Hoover down a path where he would set aside his lucrative mining career and spend the rest of his life providing humanitarian aid. It’s a part of Hoover many people have not heard about and the trench helps us tell that story.
Secondly, we’re into the 100th anniversary of World War I. It’s a significant part of world history and the lives lost, battles fought, and lessons learned are worth our attention. Much of this exhibit is viewed from Hoover’s perspective and how he helped millions survive a horrific war. We hope you’ll bring your family for a visit soon, and then share your experience with friends and family — and help us tell the world about an amazing man from West Branch, Iowa, who became known as The Great Humanitarian, having spent his lifetime saving millions from starvation.
Jerry Fleagle is the executive director of the Hoover Presidential Foundation. You may reach him at 319-643-5327 or JFleagle@hooverpf.org.
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