Submitting Material
Thoughts from Dan Walker, the Website Administrator
On behalf of the members of 65th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and their families, and especially those individuals who have been helped with the creation of the website, let me thank you for expressing interest in submitting materials to the website. First of all, we would, of course, be happy to receive any materials you would care to submit.
Having worked with a variety of media over the last few months (photos, letters, diaries, even some video) I've developed some guidelines for how these materials can best be submitted. But before I go into any detail, let me "come clean" by explaining my long term goals. My uncle, Vincent Goracke, was one of the few members of the 65th who was killed in action. Since learning of the existence of the 65th "reunion group," I've come to realize that the unit played a significant role in the World War II (I attended the last two re-unions and helped Jim Davenport plan the most recent reunion when the members came to D.C. and visited the World War II Memorial). While perhaps not as glamorous as the bombers or paratroopers, or well documented as the infantry or other armored units (tanks), the 65th was a premier artillery group, developing many important tactics and achieving many "firsts." (The contributions of the 65th AFA Battalion have been recognized by the U.S. Army and have been commerated through the placement of the monument to their achieves at Ft. Sill, home of the U.S. Army Field Artillery School. This monument to the 65th was the first monument dedicated to the actions of single unit at Ft. Sill.)
It is my goal to chronicle some of the actions of the 65th through a series of articles and possibly a book. However, as ambitious as these goals may sound, they have to start from a humble beginning, which is reaching out and connecting with the members of the 65th and their families, who hold much of the information that I will need to pull this off. I'm fortunate that through my day job (I'm a Scholar with the National Academy of Sciences here in Washington, D.C.), I have developed contacts with the National Archives, Library of Congress, and the Army Center of Military History as well as the Army Military History Institute. So while it may take me a while to accomplish these goals, I think I have a reasonable chance of success.
This is a long-winded way of explaining that while I'll take anything folks want to send, I would consider it a personal favor if I can obtain materials in a state that will allow me to put them to best use. This may mean a little more work on your part, which I'm happy to help with if need be, but I think it will be worth it.
Basically, most of the material folks have submitted so far falls into one of three categories: photos, textural material (letters, diaries, etc.), and video and audio tape. In most cases, veterans or their families are understandably uncomfortable sending originals. Thus, most of what I've received to date are copies (either paper or electronic copies). Copies are perfectly fine, but its the copying process that is the most important step if we want to preserve the appearance and readability of the materials. My preference is to have individuals submit publication quality copies as digital files, which I can archive and then modify for posting to the website. If you visit the site and look at some of materials I've posted, you'll see that some letters or other materials are hard to read in places or that some of the photos lack captions. This reflects the manner in which I received or collected the materials (I'm learning too!). Of course, not everyone has the time or equipment to do some of the things I suggest, so in the end we'll take what we can get, but "nothing ventured, nothing gained."
If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
Photos When submitting your photos, please try to include some information that can be use in a caption. A sentence that explains what we (the viewers) are supposed to be looking at (names of individuals or places in the photo, the approximate date of the photo, or why you think the photo may be interesting) would be a big help. (With either a good date or location, I can generally determine the other.) We'll take photos without this information, but the photos are far more interesting to visitors of the website if we can provide a caption. Here is fictional example: Several options are available for submitting photos. First, if you have a scanner, you can scan your photos at 300 dpi (dots per inch). This resolution is within the capabilities of most scanners, it's just a matter of determining how to change the settings. Save the files as tiff (preferable) or jpeg formatted photos (the file extensions--the last three letters of the filename--should be .tif or .jpg). These files can be copied to a CD or other disk and mailed to me (see the address at bottom of the page) or if you're feeling a bit more adventurous and have a high speed connection to the internet, they can be submitted to a ftp (file transfer protocol) site associated with the 65th's website. Email me for more information if you're interested in trying to use the ftp site.
Another approach is to have someone take a picture of your photo with a digital camera. It's important that the camera be at a right angle to the original, but most good digital cameras will do this well, if set to "good" or "best" picture quality (this is how I obtained copies from the National Archives of the battery photos taken at Camp Young). This method is probably not as preferable as using a scanner, as it takes a steady hand or tripod (lighting can be tricky, too). Again, these files can be copied to a CD or other disk and mailed to me (see the address at bottom of the page) or can be uploaded using the ftp site discussed above.
Finally, you or family member or friend can take your photo(s) to a pharmacy or photo store (Walgreen's, Walmart, etc.) and use machines they have there to make a duplicate. This would probably costs $5-10 per photo, so while it's "low tech" and wouldn't take very long, it does cost money. You can then mail me the photo(s) in an appropriate package (see the address at bottom of the page). Don't fold or bend the photo(s) and be sure to include a stiff piece of cardboard that is larger that your photo(s).
If none of these options will work for you, you can send me your original photos in appropriate package (see the address at bottom of the page) and I will scan them for you and return the originals to you. Again, don't fold or bend the photo(s) and be sure to include a stiff piece of cardboard that is larger that your photo(s).
Textural materials (letters, diaries, newspaper clippings, etc.) When submitting this material, please try to include some information I can use to explain the origin of the material. A sentence or two that explains where the material came from is always a big help. Again, we'll take material without this information, but it's generally far less interesting to visitors to the if we can provide some context. Also, in some cases I need to be careful about honoring the copyright of printed material. Most sources of printed material will grant us copyright permission, but I need to know who published the material to know who to ask permission from. (I can't take a chance of getting us in trouble by posting copyrighted material.) This doesn't apply to letters, diaries, etc., material that has not been published before.
A second option, which is generally easier for you but leaves more work for me (which means it may take longer for your material to appear on the website), is mailing me a good Xerox copy (at the address below). Unlike photos, a good Xerox copy is generally perfectly acceptable for written material. If possible, make the Xerox directly from the original. Second or third generation copies tend to fade or wash out and the resulting image can be hard to read.
A third option is to have someone take a picture of your material with a digital camera. It's important that the camera be at a right angle to the original, but most good digital cameras will do this well, if set to "good" or "best" picture quality (this is how I obtained copies from the National Archives of the battery photos taken at Camp Young). This method is probably not as preferable as using a scanner or even a good Xerox machine, as it takes a steady hand or tripod (lighting can be tricky, too). Again, these files can be copied to a CD and mailed to me (at the address below) or can be uploaded using the ftp site discussed above. I will say though, that this is the method I prefer when visiting the National Archives, as I can literally capture hundreds of pages of documents in a afternoon, by simply taking a picture of each page. (The National Archives charges 15 cent a page for copier use and it's often so busy that you only get access to copies for five minutes at a time). Again, these files can be copied to a CD or disk and mailed to me or can be uploaded using the ftp site discussed above.
If none of these will work, you can send me your original materials (to the address below) and I will scan them for you and then return the originals to you.
Video and audio tape At present, I can only make use of digital ("electronic") recordings. That means that while I'm happy to take VHS (video) or cassette (audio) tapes, I don't have the means to convert them to files that can be downloaded from the web. (I hope to have this capability in the future, so please don't feel you should wait to send your tapes, just because they are not in an electronic format). If, however, you have already transferred your video or film to a DVD or CD, all you need to do is send me a copy of the disks (to the address below). I can archive the disks and select clips that I will then make accessible from the website.
If none of these will work, you can send me your original tapes or film (use the address below) and I will arrange to get them copied and then return the originals to you.
General Information If it's not an inconvenience, please drop me an email dwalker@65th-afa-battalion.org or letter letting me know you plan to submit materials so I can keep an eye out for your package. Please keep in mind that my wife only let's me work on this website a few hours a week, so be patient if your materials don't appear instantly (I'll try to get them up as quickly as possible, in the order they are received, but some materials take more preparatory work by me than others to post).
All materials should be mailed or shipped to: Dan Walker 10019 Founders Way Damascus, MD 20872
If you have files you want to submit to the ftp site discussed above, send me an email at dwalker@65th-afa-battalion.org for specific instructions.
Again, many thanks for helping us honor the sacrifice of the members of the 65th AFA Battalion and all veterans and their families at home, by educating the public and especially young generations about the role World War II played in shaping our lives today.
Cheers! Dan |