DAEGU, South Korea -- The 6th Ordnance Battalion held the Days of Remembrance event at the Camp Walker Evergreen Community Club to remember victims of the Holocaust, May 4.
The event featured Tuvia Israeli, Israeli Ambassador to Korea, as a guest speaker to talk about his experiences and the significance of the Holocaust on the victims and their families.
The Days of Remembrance event, a week-long worldwide commemoration of the Holocaust, has been taking place annually for more than 20 years. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Holocaust.
Each year, the organizing committee selects a theme to explore and discuss. This year's theme is "Justice and Accountability in the Face of Genocide: What Have We Learned'"
"We are holding this event to recognize what Jewish people and persecuted members went through during, what we call today, the Holocaust," said Capt. Jay Taylor, 6th Ord Bn Information Command officer. "In the process, Soldiers find out and remember what kinds of atrocities happened."
The Days of Remembrance event started out with Soldiers singing the national anthems of Israel, the Republic of Korea, and the United States of America.
Maj. Robert Lambert, 6th Ord Bn, gave the opening speech in which he urged attendees to actively participate in the process of studying and finding out how Jewish people suffered during the Holocaust. Lambert went on to explain how the Jewish endured the suppression and violence that was inflicted on them over the course of several years.
"I hope that Soldiers have at least a minimum knowledge, even if very basic, of what really happened during the Holocaust," said Lt. Col. James Bogart, 6th Ord Bn commander. "I wish that everyone capitalized on everyone else's knowledge to learn and know more about the Holocaust."
Jennifer Lear, 19th ESC family member, recited a memorial titled "After Ten Years" that a Jewish victim wrote while he was imprisoned and waiting for his death sentence.
As Lear spoke, Soldiers from the 6th Ord Bn lit seven candles. Six were white and one was red.
"We are lighting six candles to commemorate the at least six million lives lost during the Holocaust," Lambert said. "The seventh candle represents the millions of others who were killed in the past due to hatred of various kinds. Please join me in remembering the lost souls."
After the lighting of the candles, Israeli took the floor and gave a speech about his family's experiences during the Holocaust.
"I have never seen my grandparents. They were held in concentration camps and eventually killed," Israeli said. "It is our fundamental mission to gather and put together as many of the pieces as we can."
The day ended with Israeli interacting with the attendees and answering questions. Israeli promised to come back to talk more about the Holocaust next year during the next Days of Remembrance event.
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