Little Rock members host Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony

  • Published
  • By Airman Kevin E. Sommer Giron
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  To commemorate the lives lost during the Holocaust, members of Team Little Rock attended the Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony, May 5, 2016, at Little Rock Air Force Base.

The ceremony was held in honor of the 6 million European Jews that were killed during what was known as the "The Final Solution" by the Nazi regime in World War II.

Garrick Feldman, publisher of the base's Combat Airlifter newspaper, was the guest speaker who shared his story of how the Holocaust affected his entire family's life.

His mother is a Holocaust survivor who endured hard labor and harsh conditions within several Nazi concentration camps.

"She was sent to terrible places; it seemed like an endless island of death and destruction," Feldman said.

He spoke of the arrival of his mother and grandmother at the camps where two lines would divide them forever. Nazi guards separated individuals who could work from those who could not. Ultimately, his grandmother could not and was sent to the gas chambers where millions of European Jews would take their last breath, Feldman said.

Most of Feldman's relatives lost their lives while at concentration camps, but due to the tireless efforts of the United States and Allied forces, Feldman's mother and father were liberated in 1944.

"This is a special day to remember the victims, but also to honor the Airmen who rescued my mother from death in the winter of 1944," Feldman said.

"Airmen should value what they do because, like Mr. Feldman, our communities and our nation have a genuine appreciation for every effort we put forward," said Col. Charles Brown, 19th Airlift Wing commander.

The ceremony came to a close with a moment of silence followed by a candle-lighting ceremony to honor the 6 million lives lost.

"No matter who you are, it's important to understand the role we play in the fight and I think ceremonies like this one bring the team together to ensure we never forget," said Master Sgt. James Sheerin, 19th Aerospace Medical Squadron superintendent and co-chair for the ceremony.