NEWARK, NJ—FBI Newark and the Legal Attaché sub-office in Lima Peru assisted a family from Morris County, New Jersey, with returning antiquities to the Peruvian government that were gifted to Brigadier General Russell McNellis for his contributions to Peru during World War II. Members of the McNellis family, FBI Newark agents, the Assistant Legal Attaché Lima, and members of the FBI Americas Unit attended the repatriation ceremony at the Embassy of Peru on July 16, in Washington, D.C.

Gen. McNellis’ family contacted the Newark FBI, stating the small vessels had been kept in the family since their father’s death in the late 1980’s. They said they wanted to return the pottery to the Peruvian government, so the antiquities would not get lost to history. FBI agents in Lima worked with the Peruvian government so the transfer in Washington could take place.

According to a eulogy delivered at Gen. McNellis’s funeral in 1988, he was sent to Peru in 1942 by the U.S. State Department. At the time, Gen. McNellis was Chief of the Army Veterinary Corps. His stated mission was to assist with the Remount Service, an Army program meant to rebuild the Calvary after dramatic losses of horses during the wars in the late 1800’s. His more subtle mission was to do what he could to turn Peru back to the allies after neighboring Chile had turned to the Nazi’s and Vichy French during the second world war. Within two years of his deployment, Gen. McNellis had purchased more than 1500 horses for the Peruvian army and created immense goodwill between the U.S. and Peruvian government. The French left Peru, and the U.S. was invited to bring in a full Military Mission.

While in Peru, Gen. McNellis developed the first veterinary school in the country for the military. He was the Dean of the school and created a faculty by sending students to the U.S. for graduate training. In appreciation for his service to Peru, the government gifted Gen. McNellis two ‘huacos’, which are earthen vessels made by Indigenous peoples of Peru found at historical sites such as burial locations, sanctuaries, temples, and other ancient ruins. They are notable specimens that date back to 1000 to 1400 AD, linked to ceremonial, religious, artistic, and aesthetic uses. The Peruvian Ministry of Culture, Direccion de Recuperaciones, certified they belong to the pre-Hispanic Chimu culture.