News

Cleaning up history

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chuck Walker
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
GETTYSBURG, Pa. --  It's not often someone gets the opportunity to not only visit a national landmark, but help preserve, clean and take care of it as well.

This is exactly what a group of more than 125 volunteers from Dover Air Force Base, Del. were able to experience May 3, 2013, when they traveled to help clean the Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pa.

The clean up event was arranged as part of the Adopt-a-Position program, national parks program that allows volunteers to visit and not only see the history, but actually get to feel and touch it by helping clean and do fixup work at the park.

Master Sgt. Rosalinda Lopez, of the 436th Medical Group and leader of the volunteers, said the event was a success.

"It was great," said Lopez. "We had people willing to car pool and they were all excited about doing something for a historical place. Most of the people who went had never been to Gettysburg before. So it was not only something they were able to see, but it was something they could experience."

Twice a year, spring and fall, volunteers from Dover AFB travel to Gettysburg and help preserve the park.

On this particular trip volunteers helped built a Virginia fence or worm fence and cut and cleaned up brush and weeds around some stone walls.

Amanda Whitmore, Gettysburg Battlefield Adopt-a-Position coordinator, said she was impressed by the efforts of the volunteers from Team Dover.

"It was wonderful to see how hard and fast they worked," Whitmore said. "I couldn't believe how quickly they got the old fence tore down and the new one put up, I was real impressed. The team from Dover did an excellent job."

Senior Master Sgt. Janet Lightburn, 436th Airlift Wing career assistance advisor and one of the volunteers, said she enjoyed the experience.

"It's great to be able to go and preserve history," Lightburn said. "It's great that we're able to do that as an Air Force community and get involved. It gives people the opportunity to see history. I remember the first time I came it gave me the opportunity to see history I would've never been able to see on my own."