The man who saved 'The Resurrection' (2011) (bbc.com)

Amazing story. It's often (relatively) small, individual acts of heroism that preserve the best things in the world. Sometimes that means not doing what your boss asks when you know it will have unintended consequences.

"It was a brave action. Had Allied infantry been ambushed as they advanced on Sansepolcro, his court martial would have been brutal."

Yes very brave. I'm sure his reputation might have suffered as his fellow officers wrote home to all the families of the dead who would never see their loved ones again. He might even have lost his rank! Thank God he knew better than his superior officers. /s

I understand people can come down on both sides of this issue based on their priorities, but praising him for risking a "court martial" is silly. Considering what was at stake he barely risked anything at all to himself. The real risk was run, unknowingly, by the infantrymen tasked to take the town. He gambled with their lives, not his own.

It worked out this time, and maybe it was a good decision, maybe not, but he is certainly no hero.

This was a stupid, selfish act. He endangered the objective of his unit. He endangered the lives of his fellow soldiers. He misled his superior officers. All this over a painting. A painting that has probably been copied many times. In my book, no piece of art, no matter how famous is worth a human life. I would gladly sacrifice even the Mona Lisa if saving it required endangering a human life.