Shortly after VJ-day I was assigned to the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section of the Restitution Control Branch of USFET. It was a growing activity which had lately received a great deal of attention from the Chief of the G-5 Division. Its mission was to protect and repair important historical buildings and to restore looted art treasures and libraries. I had requested this assignment because my civilian background as an interior architect gave me a professional interest in the work; and, now that the shooting was over, the restitution of cultural art treasures to our allies promised to be an inspiring means of getting started on the way to reconstruction. During combat operations the work of the MFA & A had been regarded by most of the Army as either amusing or as a nuisance. But with the advent of peace, the values of normal civilized living began to assume their old importance.
