Hey there,
At my squadron there isn't anyone doing historian, and I just found out my squadron was chartered in the 80s. I realized there was no seniors from back then, and was wondering, is there a list of all former members from my squadron so I can track some down, to make the squadron history board more complete. Thank you.
No, there is not.
Helpdesk might be able to pull something.
You can also check if the old CAP NEWS papers have anything about it. If you provide a time frame (2-3 months) around when your unit was chartered, they may be able to find at least your first commander.
I was able to have them find my Earhart from 1982, which National accepted as proof I earned it and is on my record in Eservices.
Unfortunately, while we value History, we also purged a lot of it under Record Retention regs... Had a similar sit in my SQ, but dug in enough drawers to find a few things, and have been around long enough to know how to 'dig' elsewhere... Google, Newspaper archives, mission reports and other rosters, etc. sent to higher echelons...etc. You may be able to get some CAPF 27 copies from NHQ, but that's about it. Big thing is start a program to document activities and people going forward while you work your way back.
And you may as well get a Duty Assignment to Historian and use the REG 210, Historian self-training docs (223, CAPP 5 & 6) to learn the craft as you go and work toward a Rating in this specialty. It's kind of like being a detective, with all the fun and frustrations of the real thing :)! Have fun with it, and just do your best.
While the regs require Annual Histories from WG, Unit histories are "encouraged ... periodically," so the only 'pressure' is you, and the final satisfaction of a job well done. Good Luck! b.