Whiteway represents 99th at Holocaust ceremony years ago
Enclosed are letters and a few pages from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum candle lighting ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol. I was invited to light a memorial candle at the national civic commemoration of the Days of Remembrance of the victims of the Holucaust and a dinner honoring the liberators. I had the opportunity to talk with many veterans/liberators. It was great.
Ruth and I flew down May 3-5. We stayed in the Renaissance Hotel. We went to the memorial museum to be included in honors there with the big dinner that night for more honors for the liberators.
During the ceremonies at the Rotunda, Ruth was escorted to a reserved front row seat while I was taken to the side onto the dais, meeting all the dignitaries. As the ceremony was in progress, this group of candlelighters was escorted out through heavy security down the halls to a room in the Capitol. We were lined up in a certain way by name and then the director of the museum came in to tell us that Laura Bush was coming to meet each of us.
It was a very formal affair with each person (about 12 of us as the senators did not join) would walk up to her one at a time, stand in a certain place, introduce ourselves and have a short talk. At her signal we turned to face the portrait camera.
The day before, I went to the museum because I wanted to take a picture of our 99th Infantry liberators' flag but alas, all the flags were gone from the hall. They showed up in the Rotunda the following day with the 3rd Infantry (Old Guard).
My testimony is played in all the elevators in the museum to begin the tours and my "liberators' letter" is still sent out for the fund-raising (since 1991).
Time is going very fast now. I'm recording everything I can in appropriate places as fast as I can. Of my team, General Hugh Foster died a couple of months ago and David Israel is coming out with his book on KZ Dachau shortly. We studied Dachau for many years now as well as several other camps like Hadamar. My work goes into Ft. Carlisle, Emory College, the BBC, and Memorial Museum.
Curtis Whiteway
1601 E Craftsbury Rd Craftsbury VF 05826
