Forget what you viewed on the silver screen in Steven Spielberg's heralded movie 'War House.' You can see and re-live real moments from World War I at the San Mateo County History Museum for free for one day only.

"Honoring Our History" comes to the San Mateo County History Museum Feb. 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Redwood City will be the 36th stop of 75 across the country spanning from New York to Texas to California.

"The stories of our past can’t help but influence our future. For that reason, we cannot take our cultural institutions for granted.” said actor Kevin Costner, Honorary Board Member of the National World War I Museum, in a statement.

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, America was a very different place. It was more rural, more isolated, more decentralized. All that changed with the "War to End All Wars," which in a matter of months called up more than 2 million young Americans for service, fostered new technologies, and rebranded America as a world power. 

Now, as the centennial of World War I approaches, a custom 18-wheel “big rig” truck has been transformed into a traveling World War I exhibition. The traveling exhibit is touring America to raise awareness of the war and the men and women who served in it, both in the military and on the home front.

Housed in a customized 18-wheel truck, "Honoring Our History" exposes visitors to the sights, sounds and experiences of the Great War. It includes a walk-through simulation of a World War I-era trench in which the soldiers fought, uniforms including Chauncey Waddell's World War I flight suit, and a specimen of the machine gun that so revolutionized warfare.  

It's appropriate that "Honoring our History" comes to San Mateo County because the county was home to one of 32 World War I Army training camps for soldiers. Camp Fremont, located where Menlo Park is now, housed more than 28,000 men in 1917 and 1918. Few of the men saw combat -- the war ended before they could be sent overseas -- though about 5,000 ended up on a peacekeeping mission to Siberia.

Only a few traces of Camp Fremont remain -- including what are now the MacArthur Park and Oasis restaurants off El Camino Real. To learn more about Camp Fremont, check out Bryce Cronkite-Ratcliff's documentary video on the camp.

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