Tag Archives: China

The Envelope, Please

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Lee Ya-Ching stepping from the cockpit of her Stinson SR-9B Reliant "Spirit of New China", c.1939. NASM-9A06062, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives.

Balancing access and preservation is a continuous problem in every archive. The Museum’s Archives Division’s mandate is two-fold; to make collections accessible for researchers, and to preserve the collections for future generations. These two goals came into conflict while processing the Lee Ya-Ching Collection.

Lee Ya-Ching (1912-1998) was a Chinese aviatrix. During World War II she visited North and South America on a goodwill tour to raise money for the Chinese war effort. After the war, she returned to China. The collection of her papers from her stay in the Americas was buried for safekeeping. Many years later the collection came to light and was eventually donated to the National Air and Space Museum Archives Division. Years of being buried caused numerous conservation issues.

As a processor and the archives conservator, it was my job to determine how these materials are handled. As an archivist, I want the researcher to have access to as much of the collection as possible. As a conservator, I want to protect the materials. When moldy items were found, they were immediately removed from the collection, as mold is a known health hazard to staff and researchers, as well as being detrimental to the collection itself.

Other issues were not as easy to handle. One of these was a large number of sealed envelopes in the collection. Some of these were opened by Lee Ya-Ching and had become resealed by years of storage in damp conditions. The dilemma came when deciding what to do with envelopes that appeared to have never been opened. Should these letters be opened so that researchers can read the contents, or should they be left sealed? Arguments on both sides of the debate had me conflicted as to what to do. Sealed envelopes speak to the character of the individual. Information not received can influence decisions as much as information received. We as processors are obligated to process without influencing the story. Opening these letters alter the interpretation of this woman’s experiences.

Conversely, opening these envelopes gives the researchers access to more information. If these envelopes aren’t opened, researchers would have to be cautioned to leave them intact. Without opening the envelopes, we don’t know what types of materials are inside. Photographs, film, even certain inks and papers could be harmful to the collections.

After much discussion with colleagues, both in and outside the Museum, a final decision has yet to be made. The majority of archivists polled feel the envelopes should be opened, but that they should be segregated and marked as being sealed envelopes opened by the archivist. This would allow access by archivists for conservation and by scholars for research; however, they will know that Lee Ya-Ching did not have the information contained in these envelopes during her lifetime.  Please let us know what you think by posting a comment below.

Here’s more on Lee Ya-Ching – an article from Air & Space/Smithsonian Magazine, a blog post that includes a scene from a Hollywood film, Disputed Passage (1939) featuring Lee Ya-Ching, and a comic book (PDF format) on her wartime adventures.

Jordan Ferraro is an Archivist in the National Air and Space Museum Archives Division.

Apollo 11 and the World

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Forty Years ago on July 20 the world stopped for a brief instant to witness a remarkable accomplishment, the first instance in which humanity set foot on another body in our solar system. It was a remarkable time.

Launch of Apollo 11. NASA Photo.

When the Apollo 11 spacecraft lifted off on July 16, 1969, for the Moon, it signaled a climactic instance in human history. Reaching the Moon on July 20, its Lunar Module—with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin aboard—landed on the lunar surface while Michael Collins orbited overhead in the Apollo 11 command module. Armstrong soon set foot on the surface, telling millions on Earth that it was “one small step for [a] man—one giant leap for mankind.” Aldrin soon followed him out and the two planted an American flag but omitted claiming the land for the U.S. as had been routinely done during European exploration of the Americas, collected soil and rock samples, and set up scientific experiments. The next day they returned to the Apollo capsule overhead and returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Buzz Aldrin's bootprint on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission. NASA Photograph.

This flight to the Moon received great scrutiny. “This is the greatest week in the history of the world since Creation,” President Richard M. Nixon enthused upon greeting the Apollo 11 crew when they returned from the Moon. Christopher Flournoy recalled that as a five-year-old when the mission occurred he may not have understood much of what took place but nonetheless was excited by the experience. He remembered his father saying that “he was never more proud of being an American than on the day our flag flew on the Moon.”

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity (EVA). NASA Photograph.

One seven-year-old boy from San Juan, Puerto Rico, said of the first Moon landing: “I kept racing between the TV and the balcony and looking at the Moon to see if I could see them on the Moon.” As a fifteen-year-old I sat with friends on the hood of a car looking at the Moon and listening to the astronauts on it. These experiences were typical. “One small step,” hardly; Neil Armstrong nailed it with the second phrase of his famous statement, “one giant leap for mankind.”

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Commander of Aollo 11, took this photograph of Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on July 20, 1969. NASA Photograph.

The flight of Apollo 11 met with an ecstatic reaction around the globe, as everyone shared in the success of the astronauts. The front pages of newspapers everywhere suggested how strong the enthusiasm was. NASA estimated that because of nearly worldwide radio and television coverage, more than half the population of the planet was aware of the events of Apollo 11. Although the Soviet Union tried to jam Voice of America radio broadcasts most living there and in other countries learned about the adventure and followed it carefully. Police reports noted that streets in many cities were eerily quiet during the Moon walk as residents watched television coverage in homes, bars, and other public places.

Official congratulations poured in to the U.S. president from other heads of state, even as informal ones went to NASA and the astronauts. All nations having regular diplomatic relations with the United States sent their best wishes in recognition of the success of the mission.

View of Earth from Apollo 17. NASA Photograph.

Those without diplomatic relations with the U.S., such as the People’s Republic of China, made no formal statement on the Apollo 11 flight to the U.S., and the mission was reported only sporadically by its news media because Mao Zedong refused to publicize successes by Cold War rivals. It was not until February 1972 when Nixon flew to China and met with Mao Zedong that the United States established formal diplomatic relations with the nation. China and other nations may soon return to the Moon, fully recognizing the success of the Apollo program. What might that portend for the future?

Roger D. Launius is senior curator in the Space History Division of the National Air and Space Museum.

Visit the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 web site to share your thoughts and see a list of commemorative events being held at the Museum.