The World's Largest CAP History Library

Started by Smithsonia, August 21, 2010, 09:49:07 PM

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Smithsonia

Soon, in about 2 weeks, Lt. Col. Mark Hess' Library will launch his CAP history website.

I'll post the address for you, here.

To say it is (or soon will be) large is to limit it to the extent of your imagination.
To say it is complete is to dissuade you from looking into your closet to get out your
CAP History and scan/copy/and send it to Mark.

So let me say that it is the work of one man: Mark Hess

Mark has been taken to the level of primal dedication. Loss of sleep and pounding his keyboard while
researching, scanning, line coding, worrying, thinking, writing, communicating, and hoping... that he has built
a thing worth YOUR time, is to give you sense of his life and his single mindedness
to this project. It has been over 14 months of doing. This is like serving on a RedCap, alone - for over a year.

He will save the lives of our best and countless good deeds, duties, biographies, and documents - long lost until now.

Mark's efforts have been Herculean. His capability has become Olympian. His site, while he admits
is imperfect is a work of love. Love is imperfect, always. However, there are many reasons to love.

One form - is to be loved yourself. Regarding this - Mark has never wanted fame, adoration, or even acknowledgment.
He just wanted to do the work. So he did.

Conversely, love can be a simple act of faith done for the good of another. We raise children
in this faith. We are in Civil Air Patrol in this faith. We hope to receive God's mercy through this faith.
This faith is all that Mark has. This faith produced his soon to come work.

I have been witness to this impending moment. I have been remote help but deeply interested in his work.
I can speak about Mark but I can never speak for Mark.

His website will speak for itself. Eventually it will have several million pages, several thousand pictures,
several hundred revelations.

The revelations are yours to discover for this will be a place to come and contemplate. This will be a place to open your eyes
and your mind.

This will be a place of intellectual edification and research. This will be a place to gain knowledge. This will be a place to devour, engourge
and revel. This will be a place to enrich and deepen your love of the Patrol.

May I urge you to add to this thread something that is not in the basic nature of Captalk... unabashed and raw encouragement for Mark
to finish and make this vision real. He is nearing the finish line. Raise your voice and cheer him on. Add to this thread.

Mark reads the threads on this site but doesn't participate. He's been busy!
He'd rather that you have the facts on which you can properly build opinions.
He believes there should be opinions of course. But, he's dedicated the last 14 months of no sleep nights, to add more facts.

With regards;
ED OBRIEN

DakRadz

Outstanding, sir!

This will not go unnoticed. I promise to use the materials to teach a history class to our cadets when the time comes.

I am proud to be a member of the same organization as Lt Col Hess.

GAWG does produce the cream of the crop, you know ;) ;D

:clap:

BillB

Radx is correct. I went by my supermarket awhile ago and sure enough in the dairy aisle was a goup of products from a Georgia dairy. SOUR Cream.
Gil Robb Wilson # 19
Gil Robb Wilson # 104

DakRadz

Quote from: BillB on August 21, 2010, 11:50:31 PM
Radx is correct. I went by my supermarket awhile ago and sure enough in the dairy aisle was a goup of products from a Georgia dairy. SOUR Cream.
(vewy fuwny, mista)
I was referencing the fact that Lt Col Hess is GAWG....

Remember that Maj Shaw asked us to be encouraging and positive. ;)

vorter

Quote from: BillB on August 21, 2010, 11:50:31 PM
Radx is correct. I went by my supermarket awhile ago and sure enough in the dairy aisle was a goup of products from a Georgia dairy. SOUR Cream.

Indeed, don't even get me talking about those peaches heheh. ;D
C/2nd Lt Hyeung

BillB

It would be nice if the web site had copies of the major requlations over the years posted. By this I mean the 30's, 35, 39, 50, 52, and 60 series. That would allow members to see how personnel matters, uniforms cadet programs and flying have changed over the years. PAOs might even find the old CAPM 190-1 of value.
Gil Robb Wilson # 19
Gil Robb Wilson # 104

RiverAux

Quote from: DakRadz on August 22, 2010, 12:18:18 AM
Remember that Maj Shaw asked us to be encouraging and positive. ;)
I'm positive that now I won't be the next CAP Historian of the Year

Pylon

Michael F. Kieloch, Maj, CAP

BillB

I vote for River Aux to be Historian of the year,-------1976
Gil Robb Wilson # 19
Gil Robb Wilson # 104

JC004

I was planning on trying to collect some photos, articles, etc. for the site when I have time.  I am seriously lacking in time right now and have a lot of crap going on.  I started this before because we were going to create a whole section on the PAWG web site dedicated to historical archives and such but the wing folks never came through with getting me access to the stuff.  It just kind of died on the vine with the items that I'd collected myself as all I had to work with, so I didn't go forward.   :(  Nonetheless, there might be some interesting things that I could dig out.

BillB

Fifty-two Wing Historians, Eight Regional Historians, National Historian(s) Historical Foundation and little coordination among them. What do Wing Historians have in their files? Do they have items cataloged? Is there a National catalog of historical items from the Wings and Regions?
That seems to be the problem with a CAP history, there is no central archive of copies from the Wings. The Wings hold their material in storage with little access to members or other Historians. I doubt that each Wing Historian knows what is actually in all the files. A National effort seems to be needed to catalog and send the lists to Region, then to National. No telling what is hidden away. At the same time, how much history is hidden in members closets. For esample I have the full 1969 Florida Wing Encampment file including the hand written Junior Officer of the Days notes on walking the mascot dog stuck in a drawer. WQhat do you have that Wing needs copies of?
Gil Robb Wilson # 19
Gil Robb Wilson # 104

Smithsonia

#11
^^^^^^
Bill B;
This is one of the reasons for the new history website. The trouble with history is you must also be able to tell the future. You must save what you think will be important 20 - 30- 40 years from now. I swear, every time I throw something away, I need it 2 months later.

So computers, scanners, digital pictures, and a large server provides a relatively new solution. My point being is that the opening exhibits in this library will be impressive but incomplete. Inside desk drawers, buried in closets, and lost in basements are the true CAP legacies and heritage.

Little collections or single items of purity, gravity, and relevance - unknown. These items can be retained by their owners. BUT, the images need to go one place. We are lucky that members have hoarded these prizes. However, it is time to see the light of day once again. Hoarders need hoard no more. Hoarders unite. Hoarders produce. Hoarders come forward... soon there will be a place to
exhibit your precious collections. Mark Hess is preparing a place of appreciation and for some unique items... a place of adoration.

Frankly my wife will unwittingly appreciate this site if for no other reason that it'll make some sense of my basement full of "STUFF."
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

tmoe

Thank you, Mark, for your dedication and service! As a newly minted squadron historian, this will be invaluable to my work. Finish strong!
:clap:

RiverAux

Quote from: BillB on August 23, 2010, 11:54:41 AM
Fifty-two Wing Historians, Eight Regional Historians, National Historian(s) Historical Foundation a
Your mistake there is thinking that there actually are historians in all those slots and the assumption that they are all actually doing the job. 

QuoteThat seems to be the problem with a CAP history, there is no central archive of copies from the Wings.
Although the repository issue is a serious one, perhaps more damaging is the heinous record destruction system mandated by regulation that only gives lip service to retaining documents of historical interest, but gives no real guidance or procedures for doing this. 

QuoteThat seems to be the problem with a CAP history, there is no central archive of copies from the Wings.
While we seemingly don't care about archiving records, we are real serious about archiving patches for some reason.  For them, there actually is a regulation saying where they need to go. 

And as far as a document repository, it CANNOT be a CAP operation.  It just cannot be done as a volunteer operation in the back of some warehouse.  It needs to be in a real climate controlled building staffed by professional archivists and librarians and open to the public.  CAP will never be able to fund that on its own, so we need to get someone else to take our stuff. 

Preferably, it would be the National Archives, but given our strange legal status that may or may not be possible.  The second best option would be an archive associated with one of the existing Air Force archives.  Failing that, a respectable archive associated with a university would be acceptable. 

Smithsonia

#14
I took a Historians job thinking it was low priority, low stress, easy to do. Well, it is far from that. Mostly, CAP History has been intellectually compromised through time by Command, Aerospace Education, Public Affairs, bad historians, and even Moral Leadership. Moral Leadership? Yes!

Everyone has a good reason for the way they feel about our history.

Let me be extremely clear. These well meaning members are wrong. Independence from internal CAP politics are necessary for real history. A minor but perfect example is: In WW2 cigarette ads for Camels were used to sell the Civil Air Patrol, and tobacco - obviously. I have several of these adds. You can find these ads on-line. I've been asked to suppress this piece of history. I've been asked several times.

I really don't care much about this little piece of history, not hardly anything at all, it is only of passing interest to me. What is of extreme interest to me is the knee jerk and consistently reactive suppression.

To me the cover up is far worse than the advertisement.

Seniors representing Cadet Services, Command, AE, and Moral Leadership want these ads excised. In their program that is their right. In history it is not. I don't ring the bell but I don't un-ring it either. We have divergent but well meaning points of view. The trouble is, do this long enough, do this over and over, and eventually you have no idea what is true. You lose your bearings. You lose the trail. You've lost sight of home. You are ignorant and alone. You will make mistakes that have been made before. You've cooked your history books so long you are the Enron of the intellectual world. (Of course this is a slight exaggeration to make an editorial point) If you follow this route long enough you start self editing as you research. You begin not adding knowledge but policy.

I think that this is not the best way to handle History. I think people are starting to understand my point. I've always been surprised
that it was something I had to explain. To me it is as clear as sunshine. To me this is not a command decision. No more than the US President can ban a book.

The Army wants it's history unvarnished and based on the best scholarship. I've been told that the Air Force plays it a little fast and loose in this regard. I can't speak first hand about this proclivity.

I suppose we caught this "cold" from them... but I don't know. I can't do anything but let everyone see all of the research. Ask everyone to add to the research. To liberate the research. Then, if you find it compelling, reconfigure what you thought you knew. There isn't anything to be afraid of. It is just pictures and words. It is nothing more than facts and people. People sometimes get it wrong. And some times facts change. Sometimes there is more research and better scholarship. None of that should be suppressed. It should always be encouraged. I am not for treating our members like children. Even the members who are children. They are cadets. For instance, in the case of the smoking ads... we are trying to maneuver around the topic - by ignoring or denying the topic. Instead it could be a teaching moment. Proving that we have learned lessons.

I've had numerous discussions with fine members, who are also historians, men and women whom I love, respect, and appreciate. Scholarship will make better history. Intellectual rigor is the only true authority to which we should answer.

Regarding the new and upcoming website - I think you will find new things about Gil Robb Wilson, Jack Curry, the brand names of the Air Corps, Air Force and CAP. You'll have new heroes and heroines (Jackie Cochran was a big darn deal) You'll be prouder of the Civil Air Patrol than ever before. Not because everything it did was always right, but because it was persistent, indefatigable, relentless, adaptive, and gee-gosh-good.

I helped on the upcoming History Library not to rub noses in it. But, to do the best work I could. I think Mark Hess feels the same. I trust you will join in this project in that same spirit.

By the way. I understand that the launch date is being pushed back a week or two. Things aren't quite ready. Mid-Sept, I suppose.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

ZigZag911

I agree with you, let's "tell it like it was"...that is how we can learn from mistakes as well as successes!

tarheel gumby

Ed, I agree with you 100%. I have always tried to look at the events and people in the context of the time period. That way I can try to understand, not just the what but the why as well. In my own research I have found that at least one squadron in this area had very serious command issues and a poor relationship with the airport that they met at. That means that I can at least be aware of potential issues that may come up in my research.
BTW I am very much looking forward to the launch of the web site.
Joseph Myers Maj. CAP
Squadron Historian MER NC 019
Historian MER NC 001
Historian MER 001

Parsifal

#17
Quote from: Smithsonia on August 26, 2010, 01:46:09 AMA minor but perfect example is: In WW2 cigarette ads for Camels were used to sell the Civil Air Patrol, and tobacco - obviously. I have several of these adds. You can find these ads on-line. I've been asked to suppress this piece of history. I've been asked several times.

During a new member orientation for SMs, cadets, and parents, I (as squadron AEO) gave a lecture and slide presentation on the history of the CAP with a strong focus on early history. The Powerpoint slides I created included some of the "politically incorrect" cigarette and home appliance ads featuring female CAP pilots. As the old advertisements were displayed, I briefly explained the context of the advertisements within that particular time frame: mixed and changing gender roles in society and the military, the widespread and acceptable use of tobacco at the time, etc. I also noted that, compared to other military, government, and social institutions, the CAP was much more inclusive in its membership which included people (old WWI veterans, women, minorities, etc.) who were excluded or restricted in performing regular military service.

History requires depth and breadth. When we excise the "politically incorrect"and eliminate contextual background, it is no longer history but propaganda. (Neoconservative pundits, Pentagon, are you also listening?)

RiverAux

Unfortunately, if you want to use CAP-related art, you're restricted to just a handful of items.  Maybe we need a CAP artist program so we have something other than the same old paintings to use. 

Smithsonia

#19
Things like this will be referenced in the History Library - give it time to load (2.5 minutes for me):
http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/hgp&CISOPTR=566&CISOBOX=1&REC=3

This is from Southern Methodist's online library. The document is important as reference for CAP.
It is the Office of Civil Defense pamphlet dated March '41. This does not mention CAP specifically. But it does explain the organizing
plan and principals for all of the Civil Defense Volunteers and comes from the office of Florella LaGuardia

Additionally from the Office of James Landis: http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/hgp&CISOPTR=589&filename=590.pdf#search=%22Civil%20defense--Organization--United%20States.%22

James Landis is one big deal in the organization of CAP (although he was in the Office of Civil Defense) James Landis, it is
my personal contention, is the character upon which Gil Robb Wilson based his public persona. Landis was the son of Kennesaw
Mountain Landis (commissioner of of Baseball through the 20s-40s) and a WW1 pilot of note. He was a major yet overlooked CAP figure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Landis

These are seminal documents for CAP's WW2 organization. Enjoy. It loads a little funny - so you'll have to play with it to read.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN