Tommie Sue Montgomery
Tommie Sue Montgomery began doing research in El Salvador in November 1979, two weeks after a coup d’etat that would ultimately end six decades of military rule and continue for over four decades. Frequent visits during 11 years of civil war put her in contact with hundreds of refugees, forced from their homes by army operations. She visited many refugee camps throughout Central America. Her research led to three books and many articles. Part of her archives, including several thousand photographs, are housed in the library of the José Simeón Cañas Central American University in San Salvador. The remaining archives are being digitized as part of the Surviving Memory project.