Holloman Holocaust Remembrance Day

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Adrian Salazar
  • 49 Wing Public Affairs

Congress passed legislation in 1978 declaring Holocaust Remembrance Day to be celebrated in April in accordance with the Hebrew calendar. Team Holloman paid tribute to the millions of lives lost in the genocide during a Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony on April 28, 2022.

 

The purpose of Days of Remembrance is to publically commemorate the 11 million lives lost during WWII.

 

“I think this event needs to be a priority,” said Tech. Sgt. Allison Ward, 704th Test Squadron logistics materiel control activity section chief and event coordinator. “This event sheds light on how widespread and impactful the holocaust was to families and cultures worldwide.”

 

This year’s ceremony focused on the story of two Holocaust survivors specifically. From the perspective of their daughter, two parents are described by the physical scars they had and the mental trauma suffered from being held in concentration camps.

 

“I had read the story before the event and I was shocked and taken aback with how much detail was put into it,” said Tech. Sgt. Mercedes Prand, 49th Equipment Maintenance Squadron programs non-commissioned officer in charge.

 

After the ceremony concluded, the remainder of the day was commemorated with a reading of all 4,968 documented holocaust victims’ names, provided from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

 

“Unfortunately, there is no complete list to honor every life lost during the holocaust,” Prand said. “But by reading off the names of those confirmed we can honor the lives of those 11 million.”