“Our darkest day” – that’s how Sara Bloomfield, director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), described June 10, 2009, in a letter to supporters.
One year ago, Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns (1969-2009) died from injuries suffered after he opened the Museum’s door for an elderly man and was shot in the torso at point-blank range.
Now, on the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, the USHMM is collecting notes of support for Officer Johns’ family as part of an online memory book.
“This attack is a painful reminder that the ideals Officer Johns sacrificed his life for are far from being realized. The need to confront hate is an urgent problem,” Bloomfield said.
“As the Holocaust teaches us, silence in the face of hate is dangerous and potentially deadly. Only by working together can we counter the hate that continues to spread throughout the world – the very same hate that came to the Museum’s front door and took the life of Officer Johns.”
To pay tribute to Officer Johns’ heroism, the Museum established the Stephen Tyrone Johns Summer Youth Leadership Program Endowment Fund. Each year, 50 young people from the Washington, D.C., area learn about the Holocaust and the ideals that Officer Johns gave his life to protect.
When I visited the Museum in November, I was touched to see so many guests pause to look at Officer Johns’ photo and read his honorary plaque, positioned near the entrance.
On this sad anniversary, our thoughts go out to Officer Johns’ wife, son, mother, stepfather and his other relatives, friends and colleagues at the USHMM.
