AHA president-elect Lonnie G. Bunch III (Smithsonian Inst.), who will begin his term as AHA president in January 2027, was interviewed for a Smithsonian Magazine article about his career and achievements ahead of his retirement. Speaking with Air & Space Quarterly senior editor Diane Tedeschi, Bunch reflected on the beginning of his career with the Smithsonian at the National Air and Space Museum, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and the importance of sharing both the dark parts of history as well as the good parts: “I believe strongly that it is our responsibility to tell a complete and full history. . . . You can’t understand the triumphs without understanding the tragedies. Many of our Smithsonian exhibitions, in fact, show that human advancement is often achieved only through courage, creativity, and loss.”
