2024 Holocaust Days of Remembrance

1.  The Days of Remembrance, an annual week-long commemoration of the Holocaust, will be observed May 5-12, 2024, and include Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah), observed on May 6.  The Department of Defense's theme for this year's observance is "Behind Every Name a Story: The Courageous."  More information may be found at https:(slash)(slash)www.defenseculture.mil/special-observances/.
2.  In 1980, Public Law 96-388 established the Days of Remembrance as the nation's annual commemoration of the genocide now known as the Holocaust.  The systemic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jewish people from 1933 to 1945 directly contributed to the recognition of genocide as a crime under international law in 1946 by the United Nations.  It was codified as an independent crime by the United Nations' 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
3.  In keeping with this year's theme, we honor the courageous stories of Jewish American service members like U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Isadore Jachman, who emigrated from Berlin, Germany, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after he was killed in action defending a town in Belgium from a German attack on January 4, 1945.  We honor Chaplain Alexandar Goode, a Rabbi and one of four U.S. chaplains who sacrificed their lives during the sinking of a troop transport boat off the coast of Newfoundland in February 1943.  Less than thirty minutes after being hit, the Dorchester sank with the loss of 672 men, including the four chaplains.  The survival of some 230 men was directly credited to the chaplains' actions.  On December 19, 1944, each of the chaplains was posthumously awarded a purple heart and a distinguished service cross.  The United States Marine Corps honors, remembers, and stands with all of humanity in remembrance of these tragic events.  The moral and physical courage of Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers is as evident in today's warfighters as it was more than 75 years ago.
4.  During this observance, commanders are encouraged to observe and support opportunities to discuss the Holocaust Days of Remembrance and Holocaust Remembrance Day.
5.  Release authorized by Brigadier General David R. Everly, Director, Manpower Plans and Policy Division, Manpower and Reserve Affairs.