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THE MARCH FIELD MUSEUM FOUNDATION
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DINNER
APRIL 26, 2007
General James P. Mullins, USAF, Retired
ON OCCASIONS LIKE THIS I AM REMINDED OF THE TEACHER
WHO ASKED HER FIRST GRADERS WHAT THEY KNEW ABOUT
GEORGE WASHINGTON. WHEREUPON, A LITTLE GIRL
STOOD UP AND OFFERED THE FOLLOWING RESPONSE:
“GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS A VERY BAD BOY. HE CUT
DOWN A CHERRY TREE AND HIS FATHER SPANKED HIM
UNTIL HE COULDN’T SIT DOWN”. SHE PAUSED FOR BREATH.
“AND THAT”, SHE CONCLUDED, “IS WHY HE STOOD UP IN
THE BOAT”.
IT IS AN INTERESTING PHENOMENON OF HUMAN HISTORY
THAT OUR VIEW OF THE PAST IS OFTEN INCOMPLETE AND
INACCURATE. THAT’S BECAUSE HISTORY IS OFTEN A BLEND
OF FACT AND FICTION—WITH FICTION FILLING IN WHERE
FACT IS MISSING. AND THAT’S REALLY WHY WE’RE HERE
TODAY—TO PRESERVE HISTORICAL FACTS, PARTICULARLY
AS THEY APPLY TO MARCH FIELD AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
---SO THAT THOSE WHO COME LATER WILL NOT HAVE TO
FILL IN WITH FICTION.
OUR HERITAGE IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE ARE
IMPORTANT. INDEED, LIKE ANY LEGACY OR TRADITION,
OUR HERITAGE IS SOMETHING CARRIED FROM ONE
GENERATION TO ANOTHER---SOMETHING WHICH GIVES US
THE FACTS OF OUR PAST, SO THAT WE MIGHT BETTER
KNOW WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE GOING.
THE PAST IS CLEARLY WORTH STUDYING AND
REMEMBERING, BECAUSE IT IS REALLY THE ONLY SOURCE
OF INFORMATION WE HAVE ABOUT THE PRESENT- -AND THE
FUTURE. OUR PAST IS ALL AROUND US, LIVING AND
GROWING IN MANY FORMS WE USUALLY TAKE FOR
GRANTED. IT’S THERE IN OUR CUSTOMS AND COURTESIES
---IT IS THERE IN OUR INSTITUTIONS AND BELIEFS---IT’S
THERE IN THE LAWS WE LIVE UNDER---AND IT’S THERE IN
OUR ARTIFACTS. IN FACT, THAT’S WHAT MAKES OUR
HERITAGE SO IMPORTANT---BECAUSE IT’S NOT JUST A POST
MORTEM ON A BYGONE ERA; RATHER, IT IS AN EFFECTIVE
WAY FOR US TO UNDERSTAND OURSELVES TODAY---AND
BETTER CHART OUR COURSE FOR TOMORROW.
OUR HERITAGE CAN ALSO PROVIDE US WITH THE PERSONAL
IDENTITY WE NEED---IT CAN REMIND US OF THAT OF WHICH
WE ARE A PART---AND IT CAN GIVE US THE INNER
STRENGTH TO MEET THE SOBERING CHALLENGES AHEAD.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND, HOWEVER, THAT OUR
HERITAGE IS NOT INDESTRUCTIBLE---OR IS THE SPECIAL
POWER IT GIVES US TO SEE INTO THE FUTURE AND COPE
WITH THE CHALLENGES WE FACE. FOR WITHOUT
NOURISHMENT, OUR HERITAGE WILL DECAY; WITHOUT
CONCERN, IT WILL FALL FROM THE REALM OF THE
LIVING---A USELESS OR MISUNDERSTOOD RELIC OF A
FORGOTTEN TIME, ESPECIALLY AMONG OUR YOUNG
PEOPLE.
THE REAL DANGER IS NOT THAT ALL SENSE OF HISTORY
WILL FADE--- BECAUSE IT WON’T. MOST AMERICANS WILL
ALWAYS WANT TO IDENTIFY STRONGLY WITH THEIR PAST,
BECAUSE IT’S IN THEIR NATURE TO DO SO. IN FACT, A
SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT
MOST PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY CONSIDER THEMSELVES
SOMEWHAT OLD FASHIONED IN THEIR TASTES AND HABITS.
AMERICANS TEND TO LATCH ONTO WHATEVER LEGACY OR
TRADITION THEY CAN READILY FIND TO HELP THEM
UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES AND COPE WITH THE
PROBLEMS OF LIFE, ESPECIALLY AS THEY GET OLDER.
THE REAL DANGER TODAY FOR MANY YOUNG AMERICANS
IS THAT THEIR TRUE HERITAGE MAY NOT BE AROUND FOR
THEM TO LATCH ONTO WHEN THEY NEED IT—AND, LIKE
THE LITTLE GIRL AND GEORGE WASHINGTON, THEY’LL
HAVE TO INVENT A MYTHOLOGY WITH WHICH TO
IDENTIFY, ONE WHICH PROVIDES AN INACCURATE OR
INADEQUATE VIEW OF WHAT THEY REALLY ARE—AND
WHERE THEY’RE REALLY GOING.
THIS PLANET IS A TANGIBLE THING – BUT HOW WE LIVE ON
IT IS NOT. WE ARE, INDEED, CREATURES OF OUR THOUGHTS
---MEMORY PATTERNS SHAPED BY OUR OWN EXPERIENCES,
OR BY THE EXPERIENCES OF OTHERS PASSED ON TO US.
ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM ENJOY UNCOUNTED AND
LARGELY UNRECORDED MEMORIES OF THE PAST ---
MEMORIES BASED ON YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.
FOR SOME IT WILL BE OF WORLD WAR II --- FOR OTHERS,
THOSE OF MY TENDER YEARS, IT WILL BE EVEN EARLIER
--GOING BACK TO THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE 30’s.
BUT FOR MOST OF YOU IT WILL BE OF KOREA, THE
COLD WAR, VIETNAM AND, FOR THE YOUNGEST, THE
BALKAN AND PERSIAN GULF CONFLICTS.
YOU WILL NOTE THAT IT IS THE WARS WE FOUGHT THAT
PRIMARILY DEFINE OUR HERITAGE. THOSE OF YOU WHO
ARE STUDENTS OF HISTORY KNOW FULL WELL THAT
THE GREAT TURNING POINTS, THROUGHOUT HISTORY,
HAVE REVOLVED AROUND WARS AND THEIR
CONSEQUENCES. NO WONDER THEN THAT WE ARE SO
DRAWN TO THEM. THEIR OUTCOMES, REGARDLESS OF THE
POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC FACTORS INVOLVED, HAVE BEEN
LARGELY DETERMINED BY TECHNOLOGY AND THE MEN
AND WOMEN WHO EXPLOITED IT. FROM THE JAWBONE OF
AN ASS TO THE THERMONUCLEAR WEAPONS OF TODAY, THE
HISTORY OF MANKIND HAS BEEN SHAPED BY THOSE
SEEKING TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE AND BY THOSE
DETERMINED TO PRESERVE WHAT IS.
NOW, IT IS “WE” WHO MUST PROVIDE OUR EXPERIENCES TO
OTHERS. FOR, IF THAT HERITAGE, MORE PARTICULARLY
YOUR HERITAGE, IS TO SURVIVE --- IF IT IS TO REMAIN
INTACT---IF IT IS TO ACCURATELY REFLECT THE SUCCESSES
AND FAILURES OF YESTERYEAR FOR THOSE WHO WILL
FOLLOW, THEN IT IS YOU WHO MUST NOW BEAR THE
BURDEN OF PRESERVING WHAT WE WERE AND WHAT WE
ARE TODAY.
UNFORTUNATELY, ONE OF THE TENDENCIES OF A HIGH
TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY – A SOCIETY SUCH AS WE HAVE
TODAY – IS TO READILY DISGARD THE OLD IN FAVOR OF
THE NEW. WE ROUNTINELY CONDEM THAT WHICH
SERVED US AND THIS COUNTRY SO WELL, THEN WATCH
AS IT IS SCRAPPED FOR THE VALUE OF ITS PARTS –
AND RARELY DO WE THINK ABOUT THE MEANING THAT IS
BEING DISPATCHED WITH IT.
IT WAS WITH THAT THOUGHT IN MIND THAT IN 1979 A
MUSEUM PROGRAM WAS ESTABLISHED WITHIN WHAT
WAS THEN 15TH AIR FORCE, HEADQUARTERED HERE;
THE CENTER PIECE OF WHICH WAS TO BE MARCH FIELD.
IT IS THE OLDEST AIR FORCE BASE IN THE WEST; FOUNDED
IN 1918, DURING THE CLOSING MONTHS OF THE FIRST
WORLD WAR. A TRUE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.
BUT, EVEN THEN, FEWER AND FEWER ARTIFACTS OF
YESTERYEAR REMAINED. WE HAD TO MOVE AND MOVE
QUICKLY TO PRESERVE THE PARTS OF OUR PAST WHICH
HAD YET TO BE PRESERVED. AND MOVE WE DID.
WHAT YOU SEE HERE AT THE FOOT OF VAN BUREN
BOULEVARD IS THE RESULT OF THAT EFFORT. IN SPITE OF
ENORMOUS OBSTACLES, THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO
HAVE WORKED TIRELESSLY OVER THESE ALMOST THREE
DECADES, HAVE DONE WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE. THEY
HAVE PRESERVED THE HERITAGE OF MARCH FIELD AND
THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVED HERE. EQUALLY
IMPORTANT, THEY HAVE PRESERVED A SIGNIFICANT
ASPECT OF THE INLAND EMPIRE’S AND SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA’S HERITAGE.
ONE NEED ONLY THINK BACK TO THOSE EARLY DAYS IN
WORLD WAR I WHEN, WHAT IS NOW THE INLAND EMPIRE,
WAS CHOSEN AS THE SITE OF A NEW ARMY AIRFIELD AND
THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE PEOPLE OF THIS COMMUNITY,
YOUR PREDECESSORS, IN THAT DECISION---AND THE MANY
DECISIONS SINCE TO KEEP THE BASE HERE ---THROUGH
WORLD WAR II, THE KOREAN WAR, THE COLD WAR, AND
VIETNAM--- AND ON TO THE PRERSENT DAY WHEN CITIZEN
“AIRMEN”, MANY FROM THIS COMMUNITY, CARRY ON THE
GOOD FIGHT PROTECTING OUR SOCIETY AND ITS WAY OF
LIFE FROM THOSE WHO WOULD THREATEN IT.
NOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IS TO CAPITALIZE ON
THAT BEGINNING ---BY TAKING THE NEXT STEP ON THE
PATH OF PRESERVING THE HISTORY OF THE INLAND
EMPIRE’S AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S CONTINUING ROLE
IN THE PRESERVATION, NOT ONLY OF OUR WAY OF LIFE,
BUT THAT OF FREEDOM LOVING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD.
OUR LAST CAPITAL CAMPAIGN BUILT THE HANGAR YOU
TOURED TONIGHT. IN A PROCESS ANALOGOUS TO THE
BUILDING OF A SHIP, IT HAS BEEN LAUNCHED---NOW, IT
NEEDS TO BE OUTFITTED FOR SEA. ITS MISSION IS AT THE
HEART OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT,
THE INVOLVMENT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG
PEOPLE OF THIS AREA, IN THEIR HERITAGE AS FREEDOM
FIGHTERS; THEREBY, BETTER PREPARING THEM
FOR THE CHALLENGES THEY MOST CERTAINLY WILL FACE
AS WE GO FORWARD INTO THE FUTURE. BUT, IN DOING SO,
IT IS IMPORTANT TO APPRECIATE ALL OF THE
POSSIBILITIES.
THIS COMMUNITY, WITH MARCH FIELD, HAS SOMETHING
MOST COMMUNITIES WOULD GIVE THEIR EYE TEETH TO
HAVE —A NATIONAL IDENTITY—SOMETHING THAT MAKES
PEOPLE WANT TO GO THERE. ONE THINKS OF THE FALLS AT
NIAGRA IN NEW YORK; BROADWAY IN MANHATTAN;
THE CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELDS IN VIRGINIA AND
PENNSYLVANIA ---AND, ALTHOUGH YOU MIGHT NOT THINK
OF IT RIGHT AWAY, THE AIR FORCE MUSEUM IN DAYTON,
OHIO; WHICH AVERAGES ABOUT THREE THOUSAND
DAILY VISITORS.
EXCEPT, PERHAPS, FOR NEW YORK CITY, FEW WOULD VISIT
ANY OF THESE PLACES WERE IT NOT FOR THEIR SPECIAL
ATTRACTIONS. THIS IS CERTAINLY TRUE OF DAYTON, OHIO,
A COMMUNITY WELL OFF THE BEATEN PATH; YET, BECAUSE
OF THE AIR FORCE MUSEUM LOCATED THERE, OVER A
MILLION VISITORS A YEAR ARE DRAWN TO THE AREA
--- WITH ENORMOUS BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY, BOTH
ECONOMICALLY AND IN THE PRIDE IN THEIR COMMUNITY,
IT ENGENDERS.
THAT, I CONTEND, IS WHAT CAN HAPPEN HERE – IN SPADES,
PROVIDED THE INLAND EMPIRE HUSBANDS THE RESOURCE
REPRESENTED BY MARCH FIELD’S ONGOING ROLE IN OUR
NATION’S AEROSPACE ENDEAVORS.
I CAN’T PREDICT THE FUTURE BUT I CAN IMAGINE WHAT
MIGHT BE POSSIBLE WITH PROPER PLANNING AND
INVESTMENT IN MARCH FIELD’S POTENTIAL DRAWING
POWER, PARTICULARLY WHEN VIEWED IN CONJUNCTION
WITH THAT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
RIVERSIDE, THE MISSION INN AND, IF PROPERLY
DEVELOPED, THE PROPERTY ADJACENT TO MARCH FIELD.
THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT ---AND, HAVING SEEN WHAT
THIS COMMUNITY HAS DONE ALREADY --- I KNOW IT IS IN
GOOD HANDS.
THANK YOU.
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