Webmaster/Historian Report, AFPMA
Seattle, WA; October 2012

Jimbo Kinter was unable to make it this year and he has asked me to fill-in for him in presenting this report.  He did ask me to say “HI” to you all and he promises to make next year’s Reunion.

The Website just keeps chugging along.  People keep sending new stuff and Jimbo is able to get most everything posted within a week.  Usually much more rapidly than that.  Unfortunately, recently a lot of it involves updating the TAPS and the WALL of HONOR pages.  This is inevitable, but wouldn’t be nice to see some more joyous things in addition?  Remember last year I suggested that each member go home and write-up his favorite memory of Photomapping and send it to the Website and or the Newsletter.  It doesn’t have to be long or professionally written.  It WILL be interesting to others and it WILL get published in at least one of the two places.  A couple of people last year assured me they were going to do that.  To date I haven’t seen either.  Don’t let your enthusiasm generated by the Reunion wane.  Just do it!!  We’ll have a much better and historically more complete site if you will.  One guy, Don Munro, did write up a memorable experience and it now appears on the Southeast Asia page of the Site.  Thanks, Don, for that!!  We hope many others will do the same in the next year.

As for Jimbo’s Historian job, he has continued to screen the sizable amount of hardcopy stuff he received from the last reunion.  He has added some of it to the Website and will retain that which is less suitable for that medium as hardcopy in his files.  Though that has kept him busy, he would welcome more!  When the time comes for you to part with whatever Photomapping memorabilia you have collected, remember Jimbo and send it off to him.  Nothing is too small or insignificant and all will be a valuable addition to the documentation of our History.

I’ll close by discussing four queries that have come into the website that might be considered “open”.  Jimbo answered these as best he could but also referred them to Photomappers he thought may be of more help.  In three cases this yielded no results, so if you can be of any help just raise your hand and I will get with you later on a course of action:

A guy contacted the website saying he admired it and wanted to help by paying us to advertise on it.  Jimbo referred this to the Board.  The Board recommended against it based on several considerations, among them our status as a tax-free organization.  Jimbo has NOT yet replied to the individual asking to help.  If you have any STRONG feelings either way let me know.

The son of a S/Sgt. Carson who apparently served with the 1373rd in the 1960s wants info on his father who passed away in 1993.  His father and his mother divorced when he was an infant and he saw his father only twice in his life.  He has one picture of his dad with a woman on his lap which he THINKS was taken in Brazil.  On the wall in the picture are the words:  1373rd MC&G Day Room.  This was referred to three former 1373rd people with no positive results.  Does anyone remember Sgt. Carson and wish to be put in touch with his son?

A Sergio Brant from the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment contacted the Website looking for a source for the film taken by Photomappers while in that country.  Their goal is to digitize all film of Brazil.  Their Army map service has their copies of what we took but a lot of it has not been properly preserved and is unusable.  Jimbo referred him to me.  I gave him the proper place in the NGA to request this film.  While involved with this digitization effort, Sergio became fascinated with the relationships between various agencies that resulted in the photography.  He is considering writing a book on the subject of the surveying and photo efforts involved.  I referred him to what we have on the IAGS and offered to ask if anyone else would care to add anything.  He wants not only mission related stuff but any stories or memories of his country that would add to the flavor of the efforts by our ASTs.  See me if you want to contribute.

A Dean Williams who is the son of a former Photomapping Flight Engineer on the RB-50F and RC-135A aircraft wants info on the meanings of the Mission Symbols and Duty Symbols used on the flight logs of the over 5,000 hours his dad had in those aircraft.  Dean has the logs along with notes his Dad kept concerning his missions.  His mother is encouraging him to write a book about his father’s experiences and he would like the framework of the book to be by the ASTs of which his Dad was a part.  Does anyone remember the meanings of the various Mission and Duty Symbols used with those aircraft?  Dean is somehow connected with Georgia Tech University.  I’ll put you in touch if you think you can help.