Holocaust victims. Still alive among those survivors were my parents. Between the two of them. They had endured ghettos. Concentration camps forced labor camps and auschwitz its a miracle they survived a miracle made possible in part. By the remarkable efforts of our honorees tonight. The ritchie boys this year marks the 80th anniversary of their creation. In 1942 as my parents were engulfed in the crucible of the german assault against the and theirs and many other families were being slaughtered. A secret military Intelligence Training Center was established in maryland. Just 75 miles from where we are tonight. Its hard to imagine the war without the soldiers who trained there and became the ritual known as the richie boys. They played many roles. Photo analysts psychological warfare experts interrogators and fighters they even as day as you meant her David Rubinstein earlier, they even accompanied general eisenhower to the ordruff camp, which at that time was a subcamp of book and walled. Eisenhower went their deliberately so he could witness first hand nazi crimes crimes. He found so hard to grasp that. He predicted what we have experienced in recent years. Holocaust denial we are all profoundly indebted. To the richie boys for me its a personal matter. But for our nation and the world it is a universal matter. Of hope resilience and freedom it is now. My pleasure to read this letter from President Biden it is it is my honor and this comes from the white house on his stationary. It is my honor to join the United StatesHolocaust Memorial museum in recognizing the extraordinary valor of the ritchie boys. A special military Intelligence Unit whose members contributed to turning the tide of history. And help save democracy and humanity during World War Two. Many of the richie boys were jewish refugees. Escaped persecution and nazi germany and enlisted to serve in the United States armed forces to help america and our allies. Win the war . Many lost family members and loved ones to unspeakable horrors of the holocaust. And turned unfathomable pain into purpose by returning to the lands from which they were forced to flee to fight for our nation and to fight and defeat the access powers. The ritchie boys used their keen intellect. And understanding of the german language and culture. To gather enemy intelligence and conduct critical espionage on the front lines in europe our nation and our world are forever indebted. To the richie boys and we remain inspired. By their unmatched bravery resilience patriotism and strength the the award the richie boys are receiving is named after the late elie wiesel my dear friend. He and my father are the two people who most awakened my consciousness to the evils of the holocaust and the obligation we have as a as a consequence to never forget. In honor of the richie boys, may we all carry forth the lessons of the last centuries most heinous crime . The shower and may we recommit ourselves every day . To bearing witness and to upholding dignity justice and democracy for future generations in america and around the world. We will never forget our moral obligation to freedom. And the sacrifices the richie boys made to protect it. May god bless you all and may god protect all those who continue to serve our great nation. Signed joseph biden now lets hear from some of those heroes. What was it like for you leaving . Not the germany escaping as a in the next time you go back to your it is to fight those guys like i was just soldier doing my job and said we good any concern that i was going back to a country albums was very attached to i had a war to fight and i did it. This is guy stern 80 years ago. Hes among the last. Surviving richie boys a group of young men many men in german who played an outside role in helping the allies win world war 2. They took their name from the place. They trained camp richie, maryland as a secret American MilitaryIntelligence Center during the war. Starting in 1942 more than 11,000 soldiers went through the rigorous training. What was the armys first centralized school for intelligence . Morph after germany surrender the rich boys took on the difficult tasks of identifying and tracking down to criminals. Did you enjoy hunting nazis . Did it give you any satisfaction could be a great deal of science. Enjoy his first twice specifically car fires. Our father was 49 years old. My mother was forty apparently left everything here. All right with the United States barriers and you were able to confront the people that had caused us the strong. Yes. I found proud of the richie boys. It was wonderful to be part of them. I was proud to be in the American Army and we were able to do what we had to do. I dont. Care heroes for you, but the opportunity to help fight and win the war with him. Wonderful way i can look anybody straight in the eye and i said, i think ive earned the right to be an american and thats what thats what it did for me. Tonight we are joined in this presentation of the museums highest honor. The ellie wasell award to the ritchie boys by general mark millie chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the principal military advisor to the president. Over his distinguished 40year career general millie has led our forces all over the world defending our nation and its ideals. General milley, we know how very busy you are at this time of crisis. And are deeply honored you are with us. Welcome. Please take your seats. Dont stand for me. Youve got another group. Youre gonna be standing for the real heroes tonight. You know one of the guys i saw out here. I dont know if you know it name is arnold mayor. Youre gonna be standing for him in just a second. Hes one of my professors at princeton back in the day. Professor european history, give me a b minus. I always thought it should have been a hey, look at good evening. Thanks everyone for the opportunity to speak tonight for me. This is very humbling. And and i appreciate. The introductory remarks yes, theres a lot of things going on, but theres always time to never forget. And and im very very humbled to have an opportunity to say a few words tonight. I know that an event like this takes a lot of time and effort on the part of folks who put it together. So let me just recognize alan holt and shelley along with the ambassador stu. Eisenstadt. Thank you so much for your leadership and mary and a lori and martin and sarah the whole team that put this together tonight, very very important. Very important that we never forget. Thank you so much for what you do every single day to keep us remembering that which we should never forget. And i also want to just take another moment to thank yet again ambassador. Markova. Ambassador of ukraine if there was ever a reason to never forget tonight. Is that night an ambassador . Thank you for being here blessing us with your presence. We present. The levzel award the museums highest honor at this time of year because it follows the days of remembrance of the victims of the holocaust a week of solemn commemoration reflection that just concluded yesterday. And this year this week in fact 28th and 29th. Of april a pair of days that carry immense historical significance on those two days in 1945. American soldiers United States army liberated the dacao concentration camp i first. Became aware of the holocaust as a young man in high school, really when i first read elite results book night and i read the diary of anne frank. Although im not jewish. I couldnt believe what i was reading. And it struck me. And then later in college i ran into a professor. Not arnold, but Neil Rubenstein who was the provost of students . And he taught me yet again. About the holocaust a few years ago i was serving in bosnia and had an opportunity in my area of operations. To have the town of cybernetia another holocaust but i also had the opportunity to visit dacao. And visiting dacao was unbelievable. It was a spiritual awakening of the kind. That is very rare. As the chief of staff of the army. And as the chairman of the joint chiefs, ive made many trips to israel. And i can tell you of the commitment of the idf to never forget and i had the privilege to visit poland many times and went to the warsaw ghetto uprising museum. Another opportunity to never forget and bearing personal witness to these places in history. Is what made president carters words . In 1980 the year, i was commissioned 43 years ago. All the more profound when he said out of our memory. Of our memory of the holocaust we must forge. Unshakable oath with all civilized people that never again. Will the world stand silent . Never again will the world fail to act. In time to prevent the terrible crime. Of genocide we must all harness the outrage of our own memories to stamp out oppression. Wherever it exists, we must understand that human rights and Human Dignity or indivisible and yet today. Here we are. 2022 and we are witness in ukraine. We are observing the ghastly savage reminder. Of the worst of Human History and we yet again learning the lesson. That aggression left unanswered. Only emboldens the aggressor so we as a nation, we as a country, we as a people. The entire world must stand firm. With the people of ukraine against all the crimes. That are being committed yet again on their soil. And to the ambassador and to the people of ukraine everyone in this room proudly says, slava, ukraine. Elevuzal like so many others endured the horror of the holocaust surviving both ostrich and bookenwald losing his mother his father and one of his sisters. And in his famous book night. It is a testament the human spirit. The human resilience the will to survive and it bears witness to crimes on a scale and scope that. Defies Human Understanding ellie became a professor as you all know and the prolific author of 57 books in a nobel. Peace prize laureate and of course the founding chairman of this museum is in tribute to the timeless spirit and perseverance that this award is recognizing the extraordinary efforts of individuals who through the power of example have advanced the holocaust museums vision the lessons of the holocaust must be learned and lived this award also celebrates the character in the courage that we find an individual actions to confront hate. Promote Human Dignity and banished genocide from the Human Experience and fittingly inscribed in the back of this award of the words of ellie. One person of integrity can make a difference. And in this room tonight we have so many who have made a difference through their integrity. Differences that reverberate throughout history and thats exactly what the richie boys would do. In World War Two looking back we can see now that they arrived just in time to turn the tide. For the allies earlier in the war is the 60 minutes film said the United States army recognized the significance weakness of our battlefield intelligence. And the best way to glean information whether from civilians are prisons of war would be in their native language. So we the army searched for the soldiers who could speak the european languages German Italian and french, especially we needed fluency with the subtly of slang and the nuance of accent. And we would also need to know the culture intimately. Theres only a native would ever know. And recruits were chosen for their high iq. And their complete knowledge of the culture and the language almost 80 years ago. Between july 1942 and september 1945 and ill correct the 60 minutes. Its almost 20,000 soldiers trained at camp ritchie. A military Intelligence Training Center. Not far from here in the blue Ridge Mountains of maryland. To preserve the secrecy of this new center. They were given orders to report to a new camp, but not told where they were going. And was that camp richie that soldiers hone their skills and would eventually use in their intelligence gathering in europe. Among the more than 11,000 graduates of the camp. More rigorous training than ever before were 2,000 members. Of that unit there was survivors and escapes of nazi, germany. These native speakers learn the intricacies of psychological warfare propaganda advanced interrogation espionage interception of Enemy Communications and other combat skills. Tough training prepared them for the battles ahead. And many of them entered europe on dday the sixth of june 1944 others. Followed over time and shortly after reaching the continent they supported their units by pursuing their special and unique tasks. They were not just intellectuals. They were not just smart. They quickly prove themselves. To be incredible combat operators the richie boys were responsible for the majority. Of combat intelligence gathered on the western front by the United States army and declassified reports indicate that over 60 of all intelligence that was used by our army. Was produced whether richie boys they were able to feed the allies invaluable information just one example is the advanced warning of the german. Offensive in the battle of the bulge was made possible by the richie boys. And its important to remember that. For those soldiers among them who had fled the nazis when they dawned the cloth of our nation and placed their boots on the european soil. It was not an arrival. To a faraway land they were in fact. Going back to their place of birth. Where they were raised and many had family members as you just witnessed whod already been murdered by the nazis. Some lived in the hell of that uncertainty. You do not yet know if mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters had made it out of europe. To fight against hitler and serve as sold. Its for the allied cause is personal and on the front lines from the beaches of normandy onwards the richie boys interrogated german prisoners defectors and civilians. And some of the most important prisoners of war were interrogated but these young men. And they were interrogated. An installation known as po box 1142 right here at fort hunt, virginia. These soldiers scholars meticulously collected information both tactical and strategic. And theyre incredible gathering of intelligence about troop size and movements orders of battle in the inner workings. Of the nazi regime they drafted leaflets produced Radio Broadcasts and published german newspapers. They traveled with trucks equipped with amplifiers and loudspeakers and went to the front lines under heavy fire. To try to persuade the germans to surrender. They were in paris. Even before the liberation serving undercover a special agents with the counterintelligence corps and posing as nazi officers. And they did this all. Great risk to themselves you can only imagine. What the germans would have done had they captured a richie boy. The richie boys were also among those who liberated the concentration camps from dock out of buchenwald and many others. They bore personal witness. To the horror of the holocaust with the war over many continued to serve. Working in the denotification programs and participating as interrogators are translators at the nuremberg trials. So many of them had lost their own families. Their homes their history and their heritage completely obliterated, but still they fought still they served. In the years that followed they became leaders in science and humanities. Professors at an Ivy League College ambassadors and leading figures in the cia and other parts of our government. The richie boys are a great representation. Of the greatest generation and they fought for an idea you know we in uniform we swear an oath. We dont swear an oath to a country. Theres 190 countries in the united nations. But we the United States military. Were the only military swears in oath to an idea. An idea thats embodied in our constitution we dont swear an oath to king or queen we dont swear enough to a tyrant or dictator or would be dictator. We swear an oath to a document. To the constitution of the United States of america and then that is an idea. And idea that the richie boys were willing to die for the idea that is america. That was the idea for which my parents fought in World War Two my mother. In the medical corps the navy and my father with the fourth marine division. Hitting the beach iwo jima and saipan and tinian and kwajalein well my uncle hit the beach at normandy. Every soldier who trained at camp ritchie was just like them. Just like my mother and father. Every single one of them fought for this idea and we fight for the idea that as american as you just saw in the film the idea is extraordinarily powerful every single one of us in uniform holds the idea close to our heart. And we too. Are willing to die. To lose an arm a leg be separated from our families sacrifice. To suffer immensely so why . Like all ideas that are worthwhile. This is a very powerful idea. And its an idea that is despised. Hated but the nazis an idea that was hated by the brown shirts. Was hated by the Imperial Japanese and the communists. Was hated by isis an alqaeda alshabaab and the taliban. In fact, its hated by all dictators and tyrants of all types and times. They all hate this idea. And yet incredibly powerful. Strikes fear in their hearts and like all great ideas. Its simple. Thats an idea that we in uniform will never turn our back on. No matter what no matter what the cost. And so what is this idea . The idea that is america. And all it is it says that you and i no matter who you are. Doesnt matter if youre male or female. Doesnt matter if youre gay or straight or something in between. Doesnt matter if youre black or white or asian or indian or whatever the color of your skin is . None of that matters doesnt matter what your country of origin is. Doesnt matter what your last name is. Doesnt matter if youre catholic or protestant. Muslim or or not to believe at all. Doesnt matter. Doesnt matter if youre rich youre poor. Famous a common what matters . Is that we are all every single one of us. An american and what matters is under these colors of red white and blue . In the eyes of the law. Every single american is born under the grace of god to be free and equal. And youre going to be treated fairly. In life liberty and the pursuit of your happiness and youre going to rise or fall . Based on your knowledge your skills your attributes your talent your perseverance. And youre going to be judged. By the content of the character not your religion or your color of your skin. Thats the fundamental organizing principle of this idea. That is america. This idea survives. Because of the butchers bill paid in blood by the richie boys and the greatest generation who fought for our freedom. The memory of the holocaust should never receive from our consciousness. The lessons of World War Two transcend time and space and here tonight. At this dinner we must always remember. And we must reaffirm our commitment. To the cause of freedom from tyranny. To always fight against crimes against humanity we must always remember that even in the darkness of despair and hate the light of hope and humanity will always prevail. The fire of freedom will always burn it will burn for all time. And we must always be willing to fight and sacrifice. To ensure that the daylight of decency and freedom is not turn into the eternal night. Of death and dictatorship never again to the nazis never again to the fascists. Never again to the show. Let freedom ring and remember a Single Person of integrity and make a difference. Thank you, and may god bless all of you. Okay. Welcome. Uh, our audience in the classroom and our audience. To a class on the war in ukraine. The history of the present in which were trying to go back into the past to do our very best to events that are happening before our eyes in the