Trouble at the US National Archives
Investigators Seek to Recover Missing Historical American Documents
According to a July 4, 2009 Associated Press article, a criminal investigation into the disappearance of the missing historical items is underway. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, called the mishap a “major national security breach.”
Items Missing from the National Archives
According to the report, some of the missing historical items include:
- The patent file for the Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine
- Maps of the first atomic bomb missions
- Civil War telegrams from Abraham Lincoln
- Original signatures of Andrew Jackson
- Presidential portraits of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- NASA photographs from space and on the moon
- Presidential pardons
The patent file for the Wright Brothers’ Flyer was last seen in 1980, after being passed around various government facilities since 1969. The target maps for the atomic bomb missions to Hiroshima and Nagasaki were checked out by the military in 1962 and have been missing ever since. Portraits of FDR at the Roosevelt presidential library in Hyde Park, N.Y., have not been seen since 2001. Other items of historical significance have been reported as stolen and sold illegally to collectors.
On its website, the National Archives is asking the public for help in recovering the documents. Document collectors, dealers, and curators are asked to avoid buying, selling, or trading in lost or stolen historical U.S. government documents. An identified lost or stolen U.S. government document should be promptly reported to the National Archives staff.
Ongoing Investigation to Recover Missing National Archives Items
The AP reports that the Archives’ inspector general, Paul Brachfeld, is conducting a criminal investigation into missing electronic storage devices holding classified information. Grassley has called for an accounting of all missing items.
Records have been missing from the Archives’ facilities for decades. Some have been stolen by researchers or Archives staff, while others have disappeared without a trace. A few of the missing items, including presidential pardons and Civil War-era documents, have either been returned or recovered. But the agency reports continuing difficulty in keeping its estimated 9 billion historical documents safe, due in part to the sheer volume of items it maintains.
The Archives made headlines in the fall of 2003 when former President Bill Clinton’s national security adviser Sandy Berger took documents pertaining to the Sept. 11 commission.
What is the National Archives?
Established in 1934, the National Archives and Records Administration preserves valuable records of the U.S. government and makes them available for public use. Records maintained by its 46 U.S. facilities include maps, sound recordings, still and motion pictures, and historical documents dating from 1775 to the present. The National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., houses the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
To view a full list of missing items and how to report a missing item please visit the National Archives website.
Trouble at the National Archives
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