Commissioner of Art and Monuments
As Representative Commissioner of Art and Monuments for General Headquarters during the Allied Occupation of Japan, Tierney was responsible for organizing and overseeing the repair and preservation of cultural sites, art, and monuments bombed and destroyed in Japan during the Pacific War. General Douglas MacArthur's staff during the occupation of Japan included a Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) section. Among those serving with Tierney in Tokyo were Sherman Lee and Laurence Sickman.
After the end of his military service, Tierney stayed in Japan. In addition to engaging in research on Japanese art, he guided American schools in the study of art, which helped promote better understanding of Japanese history and culture amongst American children residing in Japan.
In the years which followed the war, Tierney would find himself disagreeing with the conventional assessment that Gen. MacArthur should be construed as an expert in Japanese culture. Based on his experiences working with MacArthur, Tierney would many years later assess MacArthur as culturally insensitive.
Read more about this topic: Patrick Lennox Tierney
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