Edsel

It’s a pivot that the foundation also has made since Dallas-based author Robert Edsel founded it nearly 20 years ago with a focus on the war years.

Edsel made the monuments officers a household name, writing books including “The Monuments Men,” which was made into a 2014 movie starring George Clooney and Matt Damon.

“She was an absolute pistol as they would say, just full of stories,” Edsel said.

Edsel said the last working WWII-era monuments officer was a woman.

“He opened the door … recognized her and threw his arms around her and said, ‘Mary, thank God you’re here,’” Edsel said.