History in the making

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Torey Griffith
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Whiteman Airmen make history every day; but, their stories would be lost in a sea of information if it wasn't for one Air Force civilian here.

Dr. Margaret DePalma, 509th Bomb Wing Historian, crafts the details of their stories every day, forever documenting their place in Whiteman's history.

"The primary objective of an Air Force historian is to create the only permanent record of what happens in the wing or unit so the American people will know how the resources entrusted to them were used to defend the nation," she said.

With Whiteman's high operations tempo, Dr. DePalma has much to do.

"The historian collects documents from various Wing organizations covering a 12-month period," she said. "We search out significant things that happen in the Wing and find documents, analyze them and then write the story,"

Documenting the events at Whiteman is an involved process that leads Dr. DePalma all over the base.

"Each (12- month) history is comprised of approximately 400 pages of narrative, and 2,000 supporting documents," she said. "The trick is to figure out which documents are needed, and then discover who has them."

Once Whiteman's yearly story is written and approved by the wing commander, it is submitted to command headquarters at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and finally sent to Maxwell Air Force Base, Al., where it is microfilmed and filed in the Air Force Historical Research Agency Archives. 

Her time, dedication and attention to detail to such a vital part of the Whitman mission do not go unnoticed.

"Margaret is quite an asset to the Wing," said Mike Wardell, 509th BW director of operations. "She is very thorough, and she is an excellent writer. She is able to capture the big trends at work over time that most of us may miss entirely, yet she has an appreciation for the tiniest detail. 

These small parts fit into the bigger picture too.

"We're data rich and information poor in the Air Force, and her job is to shape the information battlefield, to extract the meaningful information for leadership to use as an aid in assessing the implications of real world events," he added. "The wing commander depends on her to provide context."

Her historical perspective directly impacts decisions made about the future.

"It is critical we don't repeat history's mistakes," said Brig. Gen. Robert Wheeler, 509th Bomb Wing commander. "We must learn from those previous mistakes and apply the lessons learned to future issues/conflicts/crises. The (historian) provides facts from the past that are relevant to today's issues. I rely upon her knowledge to make those tough decisions." 

Many would picture a historian safely huddled in a library, buried under a mountain of documents and books, but that is not always the case. Dr. DePalma will be deploying in the very near future to gather details about different wings, and their different missions. Her job will be much the same while overseas as it is stateside, she said.

"The biggest difference is, the time frame is greatly compressed, and the work environment not as safe," she said. "Instead of writing a 12-month history, we have to write a history each month. Also, to get the information and the interviews, sometimes I can be sent into harm's way. I go wherever the Airmen go." 

In order to prepare for deployment, Dr. DePalma must undergo pre-deployment training just as if she were an Airman.

"We are trained in chemical/biological warfare, and Self-Aid Buddy Care," she said. "In spite of the fact we are considered non-combatants; we have to qualify on firing a weapon."

When not deployed, Dr. DePalma works with a cross-section of the base, from those with stars on their epaulets to single-stripers, as well as the general public.

"We get questions from people who are looking for grandfather's service records, or their own records, people who want to remember their time in service, (or people) who want to tell their story before it is lost, or who just want to preserve a piece of history," she said.

Among the memories she records daily, a few stand out in Dr. DePalma's mind as truly profound moments in time.

"One of the highlights of my time as an Air Force historian was the dedication of the B-52 at the Arnold Gate in July 2009," she said. "We were able to bring together Vietnam veterans and their families from all across the country to let them know we appreciate their service and sacrifice."

Dr. DePalma summed up the significance of the occasion for the Whiteman community

"It was an opportunity to acquaint today's Airmen with their heritage," she concluded. " We really stepped into history."