A guardian of heritage

By Sgt. Joshua LaidackerFebruary 8, 2016

A guardian of heritage
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Sean Sandlin, an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, holds up a photo he just removed torn backing from with a short razor in Hinesville, Ga., Jan. 30, 2016. Sand... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
A guardian of heritage
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Sean Sandlin, an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, uses a dental pick to remove debris from an old book of photos in Hinesville, Ga., Jan. 30, 2016. Sandlin ha... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
A guardian of heritage
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Sean Sandlin, an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, brushes old photos from his battalion's history in Hinesville, Ga., Jan. 30, 2016. Sandlin has been restorin... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
A guardian of heritage
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Sean Sandlin, an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, carefully situates a photo of a commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-30th Inf., from 1930 in... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HINESVILLE, Ga. - "There's a lot of history here that people don't remember," said Staff Sgt. Sean Sandlin, an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

The wooden dinner table is covered in old newspaper clippings and black and white photos that are probably best described as artifacts. The yellow glow from the overhead hanging lights highlighting the stain of time on each piece. Nothing is cluttered, it's all meticulously laid out with order and care. These are historic photos and articles about his regiment that he is restoring for preservation purposes.

"No one takes care of this stuff and it's something I'm really interested in," said Sandlin, who has been with the regiment since 2006. "I asked the colonel and the sergeant major if I could take stuff home and start working on it. I started taking small pieces home in 2013."

Sandlin's home feels like part museum, part shrine, to his military service, and to those whom he served with. He has military equipment from multiple continents and weapons from different eras. Every piece has a story and history to go with it, and Sandlin is passionate about each one.

"We tend to forget with units transitioning so fast and soldiers moving in and out, they don't really take time to be appreciative of the history of the unit," Sandlin said.

Sandlin has devoted a lot of time and effort to appreciating and learning about military history. The brigade headquarters of 2nd IBCT has photos of all its soldiers who have been killed in the Global War on Terrorism. Sandlin refers to those pictures as a significant motivator for what he does. He feels a personal responsibility to those who are no longer here to tell their own story. In fact, he has a small urn of ashes from the old trees at Warriors Walk which were burned, a memento, hard-earned burden and honor to Sandlin.

"It's important to me to keep their legacy," said Sandlin, who carried the guidon during the run celebrating the reactivation of the battalion in 2006.

In preserving this legacy for future generations, Sandlin listens primarily to Sabaton, a Swedish power metal band whose lyrics focus on war and military history, including a song about Audie Murphy, perhaps the most famous Dog Face Soldier. Military history isn't his hobby, it's his duty. He keeps a small assembly of specialized tools: small scissors, a short razor blade, a specialized cleaning pad, dental picks and a can of compressed air. It's almost like being behind the scenes of a museum.

"I'm looking at trying to restore them and keep them preserved for everybody for later," Sandlin said. "It's a long slow process, but it's neat following the history."

Sandlin talked about removing the residue of duct tape placed on photos years ago with extreme care to preserve the precious history which lies beneath. He even cuts new pieces of a thick cardstock-type paper to replace pieces of old books which have been torn, or missing.

"Each one presents its own challenge," he said, continuing, "some are beat up, some are okay. Some of the pages are destroyed."

Sandlin expressed hope and gladness that his work would enable future generations an opportunity to appreciate these thin slices of history from the regiment which earned 3rd ID its nickname, the Rock of the Marne.

"I think it's an extremely important piece of military history," Sandlin said. "I think a lot of this would have been lost."