FORT RILEY -- There was not a dry eye in the house of Morris Hill Chapel April 20 as the 1st Infantry Division Band played music in honor of the Days of Remembrance.
Hosted by the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, the event featured guest speaker Sam Devinki, who lost family members to the Nazis.
"Holocaust is a word of Greek origin meaning sacrifice by fire," said Sgt. Thomas McCormick, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st CAB, 1st Inf. Div. "Days of Remembrance is an opportunity for us to remember the suffering that was endured, and the efforts that were made to put an end to such suffering. And it's a call to conscience today in our world to make sure that we aren't the silent ones, standing by, contributing to the suffering of others."
Days of Remembrance is an annual event in the United States, which officially takes place this year from May 1 to 8. This year's theme is "Learning from the Holocaust: Acts of Courage."
Before the ceremony began, Betti Weiss of the Manhattan Jewish Congregation, gave the Yom Hashoah Prayer. "Hashoah" is Hebrew for "The Catastrophe."
The ceremony continued with a video called "Why We Remember the Holocaust," which started with an elderly woman's voice saying "We must understand. That's where our redemption is."
Then, David Neveau, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div. gave a short reading from Elie Weisel's memoir "Night."
Devinki was born in a displacement camp in Ragensburg, Germany, in 1956, and was brought to the U.S. by his parents in 1950. He now resides in the Kansas City area, working as president of Devinki Real Estate, which was started by his parents in 1955.
"We've been here for 65 years … My family truly lived the American dream," Devinki said.
Devinki started his presentation with a video about the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and then talked to those in attendance about the history of his family members, trials they faced trying to hide from the Nazis and their unfortunate deaths at Nazi hands.
"I rarely get the chance to speak to a group like this," Devinki said. "As all of you guys know, you cannot be punished for disobeying an order that's illegal. If you're ordered to do something that illegal, to kill women, kill children, kill unarmed people, that's something you cannot be punished for. And that's something the German army didn't understand … As the guys who protect this country, you need to understand what happened, and you need to understand what you can do to prevent it from happening again."
When Devinki finished his presentation, he was awarded with a certificate of appreciation from Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby, commanding general of the 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley, and Col. John M. Cyrilik, 1st CAB commander.
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