The Monuments Men

Last night Elena and I saw a show called the Rape of Europa. It was about all of the art work at risk in World War II as the Nazis attacked and the valiant efforts by museum staff in Paris and St. Petersburg to save the art. It then spent a lot of time talking about the incredible work of a special US Army group with the nickname of "The Monuments Men." (There is also a movie by that name playing now.) It was a spell binding story. The question that kept popping up in my mind was:
"Why has it taken almost 70 years to honor all of these brave people for their incredible work?"