Photo By Cpl. Justin Wheeler | Viola Milne, a Holocaust survivor and mother of an airman on Okinawa, gave a speech...... read more read more
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Nearly 100 Marines and their families attended a Holocaust Remembrance Event at the community center here May 13.
The observance was an opportunity for attendees to learn about discrimination, and the importance of eliminating it.
Colonel Nicholas Nanna, commander of Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler and camp commander for Camps Foster and Lester, gave the opening speech.
“The struggles and strife of human history mean more than lines in a history book. We are here to remember one of the great sins of human kind,” said Nanna.
Dr. Scott Goldberg, Okinawa’s Jewish congregation lay leader, introduced Viola Milne, a Holocaust survivor.
Milne told the audience the tale of her experiences with Nazis in Europe.
After her speech, Dr. Goldberg, Milne and Capt. Brenda BradleyDavila, command chaplain for Marine Corps Bases Japan and MCB Camp Butler, presented a Torah Scroll cover to the command. The Torah is the first part of the Jewish holy book. It is hand-written on goat skin and takes about a year to make, said Goldberg.
“I wanted to donate the Torah cover to the military community as a symbol of freedom, and to know in my heart that it will have a permanent safe home,” he said.
The ceremony ended with Milne answering questions from attendees and giving advice to the Kubasaki High School students.
“The observances are very important because we work in a diverse environment,” said Master Sgt. Darcy D. Dean, equal opportunity advisor for Marine Corps Base Camp Butler. The best way to influence people is to educate them, he added.
Milne’s story reinforced this philosophy and the audience’s determination to strive for equality.
“I thought it was valuable knowing what she lived through, knowing what she had the courage to survive through,” said Goldberg. “I felt that this was a story that had to be told.”
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2011 19:28 |
| Story ID: | 70709 |
| Location: | OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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