Friday, May 20, 2011

Concentration Camp and Charity Runs

Today has been a fun day most of the way around.  This morning, the senior leadership of the battalion had a staff ride to the Fort Breendonk concentration camp.  This was a WWI era for the Belgian army used to help defend Antwerp.  It was decommissioned before WWII.  After the Nazi invation, it become a holding camp as Jewish prisoners and resistance workers were held before they were sent to extermination or work camps in Germany, Austria, or Poland.  Amazing place to visit.  It's remarkably well restored.  It's preservation of the experiences of those held there is largley because it became a monument within a few years of WWII's end.  The early board of directors consisted mostly of survivors of the camp, so they had a personal investment in keep the camp close to it's original condition.  Truly an amazing place to visit.  Hopefully I'll get to take Emily and the kids there at some point. 

This evening, we went over to SHAPE to watch soldiers as well as members of the Protestant Chapel community participate in a fundraising project for the Make a Wish Foundation.  This is an annual event that is a fundraiser for that foundation.  It was a lot of fun watching our soldiers spend time together, hang out, and enjoy supporting a great charity.

I'll get a few pictures from Breendonk up this evening.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love you all so much. We had a great reunion on Saturaday, just wish you could have been here. All is well here just very hot yesterday, and expecting the same the rest of the week.
Mother