Nation IN BRIEF : TEXAS : Church to Recover War Souvenir Art

Priceless church artifacts brought home after World War II by a U.S. soldier will be returned to a German church under an agreement signed by the soldier’s heirs. The settlement, announced in Dallas, means the family of army veteran Joe Meador will be paid less than $1 million for the relics and a church lawsuit against them will be dropped, said their lawyer, Randal Mathis. The gold, silver, ivory and crystal artifacts date to emperors Charlemagne (768-814) and Otto I (936-973). Meador took them in 1945 from a mine shaft where they were hidden. The Dallas Museum of Art will display them before they are returned.