Remembering Captain Mary Therese Klinker, USAF

Among the records cared for by Preservation Programs in St. Louis are those in the Persons of Exceptional Prominence. These records are prepared by preservation staff, treated if needed, and digitized. These records tend to be in higher demand for reference requests, so digitization allows better preservation by offering a surrogate copy and decreasing handling of the records. Among the records we have treated and digitized is that of Captain Mary Therese Klinker, United States Air Force. 

Indiana native Capt. Klinker joined the Air Force Reserve in 1969 as a flight nurse, instructor, and flight examiner. In 1974, while assigned to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, she volunteered to assist in the inaugural mission of Operation Babylift. The goal of this special mission, ordered by President Gerald Ford, was to evacuate thousands of orphaned babies from South Vietnam to adoptive parents in the US as the Vietnam War was ending.

 After the first plane took off carrying 314 persons and infants, there was an explosion and the cabin lost pressure. The pilots attempted to turn back, but crash landed short of the runway. 138 persons were killed in the crash. As documented in her personnel record, Capt. Klinker “was in the bottom of the aircraft, working with the war orphans right up to the moment of the crash.” First declared missing, Capt. Klinker’s remains were identified and confirmed several days later. 

On this Memorial Day we honor Captain Klinker and all others who gave their lives in service of our country. We are honored to preserve their records of service and ensure for all future generations.

These parchment records are being treated for display in the Public Vaults exhibit at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  Parchment reacts to even slight changes in relative humidity by expanding or contracting, and inks on its surface can be damaged by this flexing. Some of the iron gall ink used to write these documents was flaking and cracking. Conservators consolidated the iron gall ink using gelatin applied with a very small brush, to re-adhere the ink to the parchment.

[RG11, Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress (1789 - 1823 Segment), An Act to regulate the Item collection of the duties imposed by law on the tonnage of ships or vessels, and on goods, wares and merchandises imported into the United States.]

Tape is Evil—the saga continues

Why is the tape being removed from the back of this map? As tape deteriorates, it often shrinks and pulls on the paper it is attached to. The images of the front of the map show where it is buckled and folded over and information is obscured. These areas correspond to the back of the map where there is tape. Conservation staff removed this tape’s carrier using a warm air tool to soften the adhesive. The tool allows the warm air to be precisely targeted at the tape. The tears will be carefully realigned and mended with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste so the map can be safely digitized.

For more information on Enumeration District Maps:

https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2016/06/08/snapshot-usa-1950-census-enumeration-district-maps/

Oswald’s Radio

When Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination of President Kennedy, the contents of his house were removed by law enforcement. This radio, known as FBI Exhibit A2, was one of the items seized. It was recently in the conservation lab for a new custom box that will permanently house it and associated items. The inner compartments are lined with Ethafoam for cushioning, and the radio and its case can be safely removed using the included tabs and supports.RG 272, FBI Exhibit A2

This Presidential Pardon signed by Abraham Lincoln was treated to stabilize it before digitization. The document had been stored folded at some point in the past, and was torn along these fold lines. Conservation staff gently flattened it under weight, then mended along the fold lines with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste. The pardon was then digitized. Finally, a custom portfolio housing was made to provide rigid support so the document can be safely stored flat.

[RG 21 Abraham Lincoln pardon, Case 7000, General Case Files (LA), pardon of Charles Boland, June 18, 1863]

Ratified Indian Treaty #8, more commonly referred to at the Treaty of Fort Pitt was recently treated in the Conservation Laboratory.  Signed in what is present-day Pittsburgh in 1778, it is the first treaty negotiated between a Native American tribe and the United States after its independence. This fragile record had been laminated between sheets of thin tissue and cellulose acetate film, probably in the mid-20th century.  The red resin seals at the bottom right had been cut from the record before lamination and reattached afterwards. Prior to lamination a number of pieces of pressure-sensitive tape had been used to repair tears.  Conservation treatment included reducing the lamination through immersion in a series of acetone baths to dissolve the cellulose acetate and release the tissue layers.  The pressure sensitive tapes were removed after delamination.  Next, the record was immersed in a series of deionized water baths to reduce discoloration and acidity.   Remaining treatment steps included realigning the record which was in a number of pieces after delamination; lining the document with Japanese mulberry paper adhered with wheat starch paste, infilling losses with cotton and linen paper pulp, toning the infills with watercolors, and reattaching the resin seals.
[RG 11, Ratifed Indian Treaty #8]

NARA’s copy of the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, more commonly known as the “Dunlap Broadside” underwent extensive conservation treatment this past summer.  The document, printed in Philadelphia the afternoon or evening of July 4, 1776 by John Dunlap, was originally tipped into the Rough Journal of the Continental Congress and had been extensively repaired over its lifetime.  A NARA conservator carefully removed a fabric lining that was probably done in the early 20th century, followed by washing with buffered deionized water on a suction table to reduce discoloration and acidity.  Remaining treatment steps included filling losses in the paper with a cotton/linen paper pulp followed by lining with two sheets of very thin Japanese mulberry tissue.

 [RG 360, Paper of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention]

In St. Louis, the demand for military personnel records is high. Preservation Technicians prepare thousands of record pages annually in preparation for reformatting. In addition, Preservation Technicians review about 50,000 records damaged in the 1973 fire. All records have some level of damage, and our staff cannot fully treat every record. As a result, we have a triage based approach that emphasizes holdings maintenance. One of the simple actions we take is relaxing creases on pages in our records.

Each time paper is creased, fibers break. Likely, you’ve seen this happen on pages in a book that have been “dog-eared” to mark a page. If folded back against the crease, more fibers are damaged, until finally there is an entire break along the crease creating a separated fragment. Since we don’t want to crease in the opposite direction, staff always keep a bone folder handy while reviewing and working with records. This handy tool, which, as its name implies, was actually developed to create strong creases in bookbinding and other crafts. However, the bone folder also works well to relax the paper fibers. Creases are gently opened on a flat surface. With the peak of the crease facing upwards, the bone folder is used to gently rub along the crease to flatten paper fibers, as seen in the pictures here. This is repeated as necessary when a document has multiple creases. This simple treatment allows documents to lie completely flat and secure in their folders and prevents fragmentation and tearing of the documents while in reference use.

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