I had the pleasure meeting with my friend Henry Ettlinger, one of the members of the "Monuments Men," Americans who rescued thousands of pieces of priceless art and monuments from the clutches of the Nazis during World War II. Among the irreplaceable masterpieces they recovered were some of the most famous works of Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Raphael, Vermeer, Picasso, and Da Vinci.

Last Congress, I introduced a resolution honoring the Monuments Men (H.Con.Res. 48) and inserted language honoring them in the defense authorization act for fiscal year 2008. I became interested in the Monuments Men after meeting with Robert Edsel, who is the author of the book Rescuing Da Vinci. The book uses 460 photographs to tell the story of the theft of thousands of masterpieces by the Nazis during World War II, and the effort by the Monuments Men to return the stolen art to its rightful owners.

On D-Day 2007, we held a press conference to honor the Monuments Men. Mr. Ettlinger and three of his fellow Monuments Men were able to attend and I presented each of them with a flag that had flown over the Capitol.

I was happy to see Mr. Ettlinger today and thank him once again for his heroic actions during World War II.