Spend an evening with Texas Tech University Alum, Colonel Andrew Scott DeJesse, Senior Heritage & Preservation Officer (aka Monuments Officer) for the United States Department of Defense. COL DeJesse has served in this role since 2019 when the program, originally formed during WW2, was revived as a new Army Reserve unit of art experts to preserve and protect the cultural heritage of nations currently in war zones. Read more about Col DeJesse and The Monuments Men and Women Program at https://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/events/MonumentsMenandWomen.php
At the height of WW2, approximately 350 uniformed Monuments Men and Women participated in the Museum Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) mission. Most of these service members possessed expertise in the museum curation, conservation, art history, the arts, archeology, and the archival sciences. They assisted in the protection of heritage sites and the recovery of major art works looked by the Nazis. Their actions have been heralded in numerous books, documentaries, and a major motion picture.
COL Scott DeJesse is the senior Department of Defense Heritage & Preservation Officer. He is currently assigned to the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command’s Strategic Initiatives Group. COL DeJesse was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the US Army Reserve through ROTC. As the lead for the Army’s Monuments Officer program and 38G program Director, COL DeJesse formed a partnership of record between US Army and the Smithsonian to design cultural property protection capabilities (CPP) and conduct the Army Monuments Officer Training Course. The program delivers CPP capabilities to the Department of Defense and works closely with US government agencies and international military partners on implementing military measurers of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
