CAP History in books

[Blackhawk]

So, I'm looking for a few good books about CAP history, what have folks out there read or recommend for reading?  Looking for anything that is more than a brochure, and doesn't need to be limited to a period, i.e. WWII, etc. 

[JC004]

There's not exactly a lot out there as far as books.  There's some stuff online here that's interesting: http://www.scribd.com/FlyingMinuteMen

[Smithsonia]

Flying Minute Men is an account of the Civil Air Patrol in WW2. It was written as a Public Relations thank you by the Defense Dept for the Patrol. Writer, Robert Neprud, from all accounts was a very nice man. However he was on staff at that time to the government. All of these predicates are to say - Flying Minute Men isn't history, wasn't meant to be, and has mistakenly been used as and for CAP History.

Using the book as initial guide I researched from first-sources - 4 various stories however I used local newspapers and witness accounts of the time. There were significant problems with specific dates, times, events, and characters in the stories as recorded in the book. I don't think that Mr. Neprud lied. What I think he did was visited and talk to a bunch of PAOs all around the country. The PAOs gave him good stories, mostly unsourced, and he wrote them up. He didn't even go to the local paper or library to check out the facts.

We've wadded up a lot of our history this way. It's compressed, compromised, mingling recall and fiction - I think, we've let this go because it is easy to teach. Or, and I hate to think this, we've got 70 years of lazy historians. The trouble is, we think we know these limited stories as facts. We think these things occurred. Our history is actually a good deal more glorious than these books indicate. Why we don't spend our time with real history is beyond me. But then, the CAP History Program is under the CAP Public Affairs Department.

[Private Investigator]

... We've wadded up a lot of our history this way. It's compressed, compromised, mingling recall and fiction - I think, we've let this go because it is easy to teach. Or, and I hate to think this, we've got 70 years of lazy historians. The trouble is, we think we know these limited stories as facts. We think these things occurred. Our history is actually a good deal more glorious than these books indicate. Why we don't spend our time with real history is beyond me.

So you are saying the cup is half empty, when the other Historian is saying the cup is half full?

I have an Uncle who was on Iwo Jima and his opinion differs greatly from what is in the history books. Does that make him right and the others wrong?   

[RiverAux]

There is a lot of great history out there about CAP's service in World War II (well, maybe not a "lot", but more than enough to give you a a good idea of what we did in the war, and a significant amount if you're interested only in coastal patrol stuff). 

But, if you at all interested in what we've done since then, it is extremely slim pickings. 

[Eclipse]

We've wadded up a lot of our history this way. It's compressed, compromised, mingling recall and fiction - I think, we've let this go because it is easy to teach. Or, and I hate to think this, we've got 70 years of lazy historians. The trouble is, we think we know these limited stories as facts. We think these things occurred. Our history is actually a good deal more glorious than these books indicate. Why we don't spend our time with real history is beyond me. But then, the CAP History Program is under the CAP Public Affairs Department.

Manpower and clock time.  CAP is very short on both.

Individually, neither scales, but you can pretty easily "buy" more of each, if you're interested.  CAP hasn't really been interested this century.

[Garibaldi]

I recently came across a bio of Hap Arnold. CAP was worth 2 paragraphs in it.

[MisterCD]

CAP history, like many aspects of home front history is top heavy on flash and thin on substance. Flying Minute Men is not the most accurate work, but it makes for a decent primer...a primer. From Maine to Mexico is a nice example of oral history but here took lacks deeper substance. Frank Burnham's Hero Next Door is one of the only works that covers postwar CAP, although it too is thin on substance and analysis. There is much to be done, but I find this a great allure of CAP history. In 2012 I published an academic article narrowly focused on the NCWG and Coastal Patrol Bases 16 and 21, but it is limited in its scope. If curious, it can be found here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/114377331/North-Carolina-s-Flying-Volunteers-The-Civil-Air-Patrol-in-World-War-II-1941-1944-North-Carolina-Historical-Review-October-2012

I also put together a small monograph on the Eastern Sea Frontier and Gulf Sea Frontier War Diary mentions of CAP. This, I note, is more a compilation of databases than anything else: http://www.scribd.com/doc/151075261/Civil-Air-Patrol-Monograph-Eastern-Sea-Frontier-and-Gulf-Sea-Frontier-War-Diaries

Why do I post these? Not to "toot my own horn," but rather counter this claim that CAP historians are "lazy" and are not productive. I believe this misleading and inappropriate. A great many of them are highly dedicated, hardworking individuals passionate about their craft and others are just beginning and learning in what I deem an apprenticeship, not a trade school. One of the greatest challenges is getting people to publish and providing them an outlet to do so, and the guidance to reach this stage.

Furthermore, the CAP history program is not under the public affairs program. We have been reorganizing and are working to get new publications out there.  Two books are in the works for the 75th anniversary and the new history eJournal should be published in November.

[Smithsonia]

Authoritative, credible, thorough, researched, sourced, properly attributed, reliable - are good words to historians but have not been part of the CAP History Program to date.

Plagiarism, theft, lack of intellectual integrity, apocryphal, intellectual independence replaced by official authorization and control - were promoted and tolerated too long in the history program.

Failing to understand how the system affects the work product is a problem. I hope it will not remain a problem. I would pose that instead of laziness, this officially authorized but not true history has been the problem. If you'd like names and dates to this contention - I'll provide that to anyone although I'd prefer to keep this conversation less about blame and more about change. (Certainly promotion of Flying Minute Men as factual history would count as a continuing problem.)

You teach history using names, dates, places, events, and characters. You teach historians using ethics.

Here's the policy for the Smithsonian Institutions: http://b.asp4.si.edu/about/policies/documents/ETHICSPOSTEDStatementValuesEthics_FINAL.pdf
The British Museum, New York Museum of Art, National Museum of Natural History, etc. etc. have
similar policy statements. As far as I know, CAP doesn't. CAP should... Will CAP?

But more than a stated policy - integrity should be the rock of the program. Otherwise history is just blithering with a random date attached.

[NIN]

I recently came across a bio of Hap Arnold. CAP was worth 2 paragraphs in it.

I'm reading "Masters of the Air" right now, and Arnold, Eaker & Spaatz are front and center in much of this book. And so far, its not terribly complimentary to Arnold or Eaker.  Then again, it was written with the lens of 60+ years of history and examination of the Eighth AF's bombing campaign, so its fairly easy to make different conclusions than the people you're chronicling would in the circumstances.

Something is about to happen to Eaker (the author foreshadowed it) and the Eighth AF, but the author tends to jump back and forth in the time line quite a bit, so it may be 100 pages before he gets back to that.

[MisterCD]

Authoritative, credible, thorough, researched, sourced, properly attributed, reliable - are good words to historians but have not been part of the CAP History Program to date.

Plagiarism, theft, lack of intellectual integrity, apocryphal, intellectual independence replaced by official authorization and control - were promoted and tolerated too long in the history program.

Failing to understand how the system affects the work product is a problem. I hope it will not remain a problem. I would pose that instead of laziness, this officially authorized but not true history has been the problem. If you'd like names and dates to this contention - I'll provide that to anyone although I'd prefer to keep this conversation less about blame and more about change. (Certainly promotion of Flying Minute Men as factual history would count as a continuing problem.)

You teach history using names, dates, places, events, and characters. You teach historians using ethics.

Here's the policy for the Smithsonian Institutions: http://b.asp4.si.edu/about/policies/documents/ETHICSPOSTEDStatementValuesEthics_FINAL.pdf
The British Museum, New York Museum of Art, National Museum of Natural History, etc. etc. have
similar policy statements. As far as I know, CAP doesn't. CAP should... Will CAP?

But more than a stated policy - integrity should be the rock of the program. Otherwise history is just blithering with a random date attached.

The new CAPP 223 which will come out either late this year or in early 2014 addresses this and uses the American Historical Association's Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct: http://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/governance/policies-and-documents/statement-on-standards-of-professional-conduct

Culture is something not easily changed overnight and takes consistent effort to address, both in disciplinary action but also education. How many CAP historians have the education and know-how to perform to the highest ability possible? The feedback I have received indicates people want more training information and opportunities. These things are coming in 2014 and 2015.

And I will add that you, Ed, can lead by example here. There was no 2012 COWG history received, nor has an academic journal quality article been published about MG Curry and his role in CAP. You could also put together a response piece to the errors in Flying Minute Men. All would be helpful items and work to provide examples of needed change. 

[Smithsonia]

Frank;
I am not in the history program and haven't been since early 2011. So you'll need to address your questions about Colorado Wing History to the Wing historian. I'll wait for the new CAPP 223 to see what changes are made. There have been lots of empty promises about this from previous administrations. You and I have spoken about those. I think you get it. I'll wait to see if command agrees.

Do you have any intention of corrections to  "the submarine(s) sunk" OR "little red plane story" etc. These were quietly taken off the Historians National Website obviously or probably out of embarrassment. Credit was not given to the change. Credit for the research should be given. Much of it was accomplished on this website. That would be a good place to start.

Regarding the Curry Material. All of it will eventually be published. Much of it (20,000 words or more) are on the Hysterical History title of this website.

[MisterCD]

Frank;
I am not in the history program and haven't been since early 2011. So you'll need to address your questions about Colorado Wing History to the Wing historian. I'll wait for the new CAPP 223 to see what changes are made. There have been lots of empty promises about this from previous administrations. You and I have spoken about those. I think you get it. I'll wait to see if command agrees.

Do you have any intention of corrections to  "the submarine(s) sunk" OR "little red plane story" etc. These were quietly taken off the Historians National Website obviously or probably out of embarrassment. Credit was not given to the change. Credit for the research should be given. Much of it was accomplished on this website. That would be a good place to start.

Regarding the Curry Material. All of it will eventually be published. Much of it (20,000 words or more) are on the Hysterical History title of this website.

Ed,

   You are still assigned as the Colorado Assistant Wing Historian. Are you not doing this job then?

Some issues are being addressed in terms of past claims but being this is in essence corporate history, there are ways to handle matters that can be messy otherwise. As for what exactly was removed this predates me.

A printed book will be looked forward to, and hope you can have it out before 2016.

[Smithsonia]

No I am not in the History Program. I haven't been for well over 2 years. I left with the previous Wing Commander. The listing of me as a Deputy Wing Historian on our Wing Staff List was an Admin error. That said, I still conduct the Curry Graveside Ceremony at Ft. Logan every year. BUT, that is about it. I'll leave the messy parts to you... and wait to see if the History program gets cleared up.