Robert Edsel's Blog

Monuments Men Bernard Taper and Harry Ettlinger

My dad used to say, “the most important thing about birthdays is to keep having them!”.  A little Yogi Berra I admit, but like many things he told me, the wisdom became more apparent with time.

Part of his message was to slow down and celebrate them; each is precious. So today we pause for a moment to acknowledge the birthdays of two of our heroes, Monuments Men Bernard Taper and Harry Ettlinger.  I’ve spent a lot of time with both of these men and they are wonderful human beings over and above their many life accomplishments.

Strangely enough, I introduced Harry and Bernie to each other on June 5th, 2007, the day before our Senate Ceremony to honor all of the men and women of 13 nations who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section.  They were like two bugs in a rug from the outset swapping stories, sharing experiences.  It didn’t take long to make a significant connection:  both had interrogated Hitler’s good friend and personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffman, interestingly almost a year apart.

I walked behind them through the halls of the Senate as we headed to an appointment to meet Senator Hillary Clinton, leaning over their shoulders ease dropping on their conversation.  I always marvel at how similar older people are to young kids in the most endearing of ways. Watching the two of them get to know each other reminded me of two boys at a playground immediately engaged in conversation as if they had known each other all their lives, void of pretense and ego, just happy to have a friend.  I always cherish their first meeting among my many memories.

So here’s to our friends, Harry Ettlinger and Bernard Taper:  may you both remain in good health and be with us for many more such happy occasions!

Robert Edsel presents Mary Quessenberry with her copy of the Senate Gold Leaf Resolution which recognized all 350 Monuments Men and women from 13 nations, and an American flag that flew over the Capitol in her honor.

Monuments officer and Army Veteran, Mary Regan Quessenberry, is an extraordinary woman. 94 years young, in full possession of a remarkable memory, and blessed with a piercing sense of humor, this lovely lady provided my small team with a wonderful interview we will always cherish.

This was the third time I’ve been to Boston to visit Mary. We have become friends.  She has so many of the characteristics I have witnessed in the other Monuments Men I have interviewed….gratitude, humility, keen sense of intelligence blended with a wisdom of the years.

Mary is the sole living connection back to the beginning of the Monuments Men efforts and those key people who had the vision that led to their creation.  From Langdon Warner, the great scholar of Asian art and swashbuckling explorer, to Paul Sachs, the founder of the first museum studies course in America, to Mason Hammond, legendary professor of Classics at Harvard, Mary knew them all.  We have been so fortunate to find her and record her memories and stories in time.

This illustrates the race with time with which we’ve been engaged these past 7 years…trying to locate those living witnesses and record their stories and gather their documents while they exist.  With each discovery of someone like Mary, I wonder, will we be fortunate to find someone else?

Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy (1932 - 2009)

Senator Ted Kennedy, whose leadership of this nation spanned half a century, has died of a brain tumor. He lived 77 years, but filled them with far more than that of experiences.  In my view, despite his ambitions and those of his family to be elected president, he had a far broader and more lasting impact on our nation as Senator of Massachusetts.

This man was a critical early supporter of our Senate Resolution to honor the Monuments Men and women of all 13 nations. Out initial contacts with Senators began in January 2007 with visits to all 100 offices at the three buildings in which they office.  Christy Fox, who has been such a vital part of ongoing effort to recognize these heroes and preserve their legacy, accompanied me and helped me carry some of the Rescuing Da Vinci books we were giving each Senator as a way of explaining who these men and women were.  Senator Kennedy was one of the earliest visits we made.

Just entering his office was an overwhelming experience; I had to sit down and catch my breath.  On the walls were literally hundreds of photographs that covered the past 50 years of this country’s history:  every world leader, every major event–happy and sad, every notable moment was captured in some photograph hanging on those walls.  It was a visual representation of the trials and accomplishments of a young nation growing up, and the common denominator was Senator Ted Kennedy.

We quickly received word he supported the proposed Resolution full on.  With his Harvard connections to the Monuments Men (more than 30 were educated there), Boston connections to its great museums including the Museum of Fine Art and Isabella Stewart Gardner, and his long-standing support of the arts, it was no surprise he wanted to honor these heroes of civilization and assist our efforts.  But the moment I shall never forget was returning from a run one hot afternoon several months later to open my mailbox and see a letter from Senator Kennedy to me which stated, in part, the following:

With Senator Kennedy’s death we lose a stalwart champion of caring for others, especially those among our great nation whose voices are too often ignored.  He used his privilege and resources to make the world around him a better place.  His was a lifetime of service on behalf of others.  We as a nation, and in fact our world, are diminished for his loss.