Va. Holocaust Museum honors former Sen. John W. Warner

The Virginia Holocaust Museum last night honored former Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., with its Rule of Law award for his 30 years of service.

Warner, 82, did not seek re-election in 2008 and left office Jan. 3 after five terms in the Senate.

"The rule of law . . . is the thing that perhaps distinguishes America from the other nations of the world," Warner said. "Great Britain, France and most of the major nations of the world carefully adhere to their laws, but the United States is looked upon the world over as the beacon."

Warner said he was humbled to receive the honor in a building that serves "as a constant reminder to this generation and future generations of that measure of human suffering endured in the absence of the rule of law."

The museum also presented its Legacy of Nuremberg award to Emilio DiPalma of New York. At 18, DiPalma was a guard at the Nuremberg Trials.

The presentations to Warner and DiPalma coincided with International Rule of Law Day.

DiPalma and his daughter, Emily Chetkowski, worked together on a book about his experiences, which she self-published in 2003. The book is entitled "Just a Kid: A Guard at the Nuremberg Trials."

Last year, the Virginia Holocaust Museum opened the world's only full-scale re-creation of the Nuremberg Trials' courtroom. The permanent exhibit reflects in exacting detail the courtroom where an international tribunal tried Nazi officials.

-- Melodie N. Martin