What is a Field Historian?
We're all familiar with history. We've read it, studied it, perhaps even learned from it... but where does it come from? In my civilian career I am a high school history teacher. I am also a Marine Reservist. Since 2004 I have been privileged to serve as a Field Historian with the Marine Corps History Division based in Quantico, VA. Our mission is to document Marine Corps History as it occurs by deploying wherever Marines are serving to conduct interviews, take photos, collect documents and preserve artifacts. I always encourage my students to learn from "primary source" documents whenever possible. My work as a Marine is to collect these sources for future historians to use. This blog contains some of my personal observations and reflections as I work to document the role of the Marine Corps in the global war on terror. The opinions herein are mine alone and should not be construed as those of the United States Marine Corps or Department of Defense.