A tattooed Shippensburg University alumnus wearing a pink bow tie and wide-rimmed glasses came to SU to feed the souls of eager history students on Feb. 28.

John Heckman, graduated from SU with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in history. Unlike typical history students who strive to become a park ranger or a teacher, Heckman landed a job as an archivist soon after graduating in 2013. Heckman works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Heckman told the audience that students tend to have tunnel vision and only pursue a single goal.

“We’re too centered sometimes," Heckman said."Think about what other exits on the highway are around you."

Heckman decided to take a different approach and use his military history background by signing a four-year contract with USAHEC and their multi-million-dollar project. His task involves going through boxes of artifacts and examining them before they are sent out to the public. The collection contains more than 15 million items related to the history of the U.S. Army from the French and Indian War to the present.

Heckman’s job consists of filling out special forms stating what conditions the artifacts are in and counting how many pictures are in a box. Since many of the boxes are not labeled well or simply say “miscellaneous,” Heckman said it is always a surprise when he peers inside. Sometimes Heckman gets lucky and makes a special discovery. Just six months ago, Heckman came across the first draft of the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II.

“When you can link it all up…it’s like being a sleuth. You’re Sherlock Holmes, you just don’t have an English accent,” Heckman said.

Through Heckman’s work archiving he also discovers some strange artifacts like pieces of hair and dried up leafs. Heckman even found a diary belonging to World War II Gen. Omar Bradley’s wife. Heckman said discoveries like this diary help him realize that these people are human too. When he posts photos of artifacts online, the public is able to view them and make connections to their families. Heckman has a Facebook page titled “The Tattooed Historian” as well as a blog at https://tattooedhistorian.wordpress.com/ where he shares his other discoveries.

Heckman was the third speaker for the Alumni Mentoring Network, which serves to give advice to SU students and alumni. Several of the attendees were seniors interested in pursuing internships and jobs in the history field like Heckman.

Senior Stephanie Dougherty said she came to the speech in hopes for a lead on a possible job. Heckman explained that his job will open up for the remaining four years of the project once he finishes up.

Dougherty is hoping to further her experience in the field.

“I interned with the PA House of Representatives Archives last summer and that was a blast.” 

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