Archive holds decades of military images at March base

By JOE VARGO
The Press-Enterprise


MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE - In a climate controlled room at March Air Reserve Base, where it's always 68 degrees and 68 percent humidity, a century of American military history awaits restoration and release to the public and National Archives.

At last count, more than 750,000 images recorded by military photographers -- still pictures and videotapes -- are being cleaned up and digitized.

The images come from military bases around the world, the military's independent newspaper Stars and Stripes, and aging World War II combat photographers and cameramen who mail long-forgotten photos and footage to March.

In addition, the Defense Imagery Management Operations Center serves as a repository for untold numbers of photographs dating to the Civil War.

Some of the more notable ones include Lincoln meeting with generals in a tent, soldiers and horses in gas masks moving through a World War I moonscape, and the battleship Arizona ablaze after the Pearl Harbor attack.

Other photos show the wounded at Omaha Beach, Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima, mushroom clouds over Bikini atoll, Patriot missiles taking to the skies over Kuwait, the highway of death in Iraq, and the fight for Fallujah.

Diverse Requests

University professors, graduate students, retired soldiers, filmmakers and historians routinely request photos and video clips to support their research or commercial endeavors.

Filmmaker Ken Burns sent researchers to March to scout for images for "The War," which aired last year on PBS. Clint Eastwood called upon the center for photos used in the movie, "Flags of Our Fathers." When the Republican party wanted photos of John McCain for a biography on him at its national convention, representatives called the March repository. Several were located.

Archivists tracked down about two-thirds of the images used to tell the Marine Corps story when its national museum opened in Quantico, Va., in 2006.

Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Halbig, acting director of the imagery center, said converting film clips, still negatives and 8mm and 16mm movies to a digital format will take years.

"We are in the middle of a major transition," Halbig said. "But our mission is the same. To safeguard the images, keep them, store them and make them available to the world. This is the history of our country. We want to do it right."

Five Stories High

Stacks of images come into the climate-controlled archive center, where they are stored and catalogued in rows of bins that reach 50 feet high.

More than 6,500 bins are stacked floor to ceiling. Each image gets a bar code number. When a specific image is requested, technicians enter the bar code into a computer and a robotic retriever snatches the bin and delivers it to a viewing area. The robot can hit speeds of 25 mph as it motors down its track.

The retrieval system takes seconds to locate any image. It's the heart of the repository. Halbig said the robot retriever came first; the rest of the 50,000-square-foot center was constructed around it.

Not all of the images capture moments of heroism or military drama.

Since military photographers and videographers are instructed to capture all aspects of life in uniform, many images could best be described as incredibly routine, said Lee Nemnich, programs manager at the archives center.

'Boring to Exciting'

"We have everything from the very boring to the very exciting," Nemnich said. "It's all about the right image at the right place at the right time. You might need it 20 years from now. You might need it tomorrow."

Routine images often are requested by military commanders for training purposes, from how to clear a house in enemy territory to details about performing honors at military funerals to routine tank maintenance. The military also photographs hurricane relief efforts and human tragedies like the Jonestown mass suicide in 1978.

They accompanied Barack Obama on his trip to Iraq and followed the military coaches and participants taking part in rifle shooting and wrestling competition.

Air Force photographers capture images from each space shuttle launch. Last week, they captured ceremonies commemorating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Military photographers get plumb spots at every presidential inaugural. So it's a good bet that come November, news agencies will come calling for images from the March archives.

National Heritage

Images come in via e-mail, traditional mail, FedEx and UPS. Some old photos come with crop marks from decades ago. Newer high-definition images need little or no enhancing.

All images, after they are cleaned up, enhanced and captioned, are offered to the National Archives in Washington D.C., which determines what and how many images to add to its collection.

Every image also is offered to the base where it originated and to the service branch. The March center sends 100 images each year to the Pentagon. Those represent the best photos and videos from each branch of service.

Retired Marine Maj. Jerome Core supervised more than 500 military and civilian photographers and videographers during several stints in Iraq.

He says the images, whether depicting war or training, heroism or the mundane, really convey the same basic message.

"It's all about the price of freedom," he said.

Images from the Defense Imagery Management Operations Center are available at www.defenseimagery.mil

Ellie