Question: Why was Preston a private and not an officer like the rest?
The Monuments Men (2014)
1 question
Directed by: George Clooney
Starring: Matt Damon, George Clooney, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett
Factual error: In the airplane scene with Matt Damon flying over Paris at night, one can see the illuminated Eiffel Tower in the background. The golden lighting was inaugurated in 1985.
Frank Stokes: You can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground and somehow they'll still find their way back. But if you destroy their history, you destroy their achievements and it's as if they never existed. That's what Hitler wants and that's exactly what we are fighting for.
Answer: Preston was loosely based on the real-life Lincoln Kirstein. Prior to WWII, he was a noted writer and an influential person in the cultural arts in America. When the war broke out, he enlisted in the army with the rank of private. He eventually joined the Army's Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives unit, later known as the Monuments Men. He was selected for his abilities, regardless of his military rank. The movie reflected that.
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