Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Frankie D. Moore

Col. Chad Balettie, 355th Fighter Wing vice commander, lights a candle during Davis-Monthan Air Force Base’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., April 23, 2018. The candle lighting was part of a ceremony that memorialized the six million Jews and millions of other individuals that lost their lives during the genocide.

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona hosted its annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Desert Dove Chapel, April 23. The ceremony is held each year to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.

After opening remarks from Colonel Chad Balettie, 355th Fighter Wing vice commander, a candle lighting ceremony was performed. The ceremony memorialized the six million Jews and millions of others that lost their lives during the genocide.

Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Frankie D. Moore

Col. Chad Balettie, 355th Fighter Wing vice commander, delivers a speech during Davis-Monthan Air Force Base’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., April 23, 2018. The ceremony is held each year to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.

“It is important that we take the time to honor the memories of those impacted by this tragic event,” Balettie said. “We, as well as generations to come, must ensure something like this never happens again.”

Following the candle lighting ceremony, Murray Baker, Davis-Monthan AFB’s Jewish Lay leader, read the Mourner’s Kaddish, a Jewish memorial prayer.

Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Frankie D. Moore

Lit candles sit on a table during Davis-Monthan Air Force Base’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., April 23, 2018. These candles were lit to memorialize the millions of individuals that lost their lives during the Holocaust.

The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence, allowing those in attendance to pay their respects to the victims of the Holocaust.

After the ceremony ended, the honoring of those who passed during the Holocaust continued. A tent was set up at Davis-Monthan AFB’s annual Cultural Awareness Festival which included more information on specific aspects of the Holocaust. This information included stories of survivors, those who died and the heroic actions of people who risked their lives, and the lives of their families, to protect those being persecuted.
 

Air Force photograph by Staff Sgt. Jaye Legate

Airmen from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base discuss the events of the Holocaust during the Davis-Monthan AFB annual Cultural Awareness Festival at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., April 23, 2018. The tent set up for Holocaust remembrance included information on specific aspects of the Holocaust such as stories of survivors, those who died and the heroic actions of people who risked their lives, and the lives of their families, to protect those being persecuted.