Warren reflects upon effects of Holocaust in today’s society Published April 3, 2009 By 2nd Lt. Michael Sherman 319th Missile Squadron F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- How every person is remembered is just as important as how they lived. Men and women who lost their lives in service were defending their families -- the same families that mourn them once gone. What happens when there is no one to mourn a lost family member? What if six million members of a single ethnic group were lost? Every service person lost in action is remembered on Memorial Day. However, until 1980, whole family chains murdered during the Holocaust went unremembered. Established in 1980, the annual Days of Remembrance provide an established timeframe for US citizens to remember and reflect on the events of the Holocaust. With one law, Congress established the Holocaust museum as a living memorial and the Days of Remembrance as the nation's annual commemoration. In 1978, Dino A. Brugioni and Robert Poirier, two CIA analysts, published an extensive study which provided photographic evidence of concentration camp slaughters. World War II photo interpreter's original examinations revealed minimal insight because they were focused on military strategic gains and were limited by available technology. Brugioni and Poirier used micro-stereoscopes on their off-duty hours to examine suspected concentration camp footage and established photographic evidence of concentration camp activities. Their report and actions documenting the past are just one of the many ways Americans ensure another Holocaust will never happen again. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has designated "Never Again: What You Do Matters" as the theme for this year's observance. As military members, what we do matters to the nation and the world. When Nazi officers were arrested, some claimed while their behavior may have been inappropriate, they were following orders. Direct orders are not an acceptable reason for supporting moral atrocities; we are all responsible for making sure we never use the same excuse. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower's quotation, inscribed on the wall of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, describes our charge best: "The things I saw beggar description ... the visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were overpowering. I made the visit deliberately in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda." As soldiers, we are all exposed to some form of wartime information. The annual Days of Remembrance gives us an opportunity to reflect on the past and consider current events. If you see something wrong, what will you do?