It's Been a Watershed Year for the Restitution of African Artworks. But What About Objects Stolen From the Rest of the World? artnet.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from artnet.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The son of a veteran who hailed from the northwest suburbs worked with federal officials and a museum in Papua New Guinea to send the artifacts his dad acquired in WWII back to the Pacific island nation.
While stationed in the Pacific during WWII, Len Happ traded for a rare bow and arrow set. His son has found a home for it in a Papua New Guinea museum. Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune When John Happ was bequeathed items from his father’s service as an Army pilot during World War II, one piece of memorabilia stood out most of all: a bow and arrow set that spans nearly 6 feet, with ornate hand carvings. His father, Len Happ, was stationed in Papua New Guinea during the war. He traded with the people there, exchanging some of his G.I. provisions for the bow and arrows. Len Happ then mailed them to his parents’ home in Park Ridge. Eventually they were kept in Len Happ’s own family’s home in Morton Grove, where they remained for years, never displayed but stowed away with care.