Brian Ducoffe ’13, Chapman faculty, among honored guests at The “1939” Club event

Brian Ducoffe ’13 was the master of ceremonies at a special event to celebrate the naming of the Ilan Ramon Day School, named in memory of the Israeli Air Force pilot who was Israel’s first and only astronaut.

The March 25 Promise For the Future event was hosted by the school and The “1939” Club, an organization of Holocaust survivors and their descendants. The late Col. Ramon captured the hearts of many when he carried a tiny Nazi-era Torah to the heights of space on the ill-fated 2003 Columbia space shuttle. Ducoffe was invited to MC the program by The “1939” Club, whose members are longtime supporters and friends of the Holocaust studies programs and events at Chapman University. In 2010 Chapman University’s Rodgers Center hosted a special screening of An Article of Hope, the documentary chronicling Ramon’s story.

Ducoffe, who was joined at the event by several other Chapman University students and Marilyn Harran, Ph.D., Stern Chair in Holocaust Education and director of the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education, said he was struck by the contrast of the day’s elegance against the backdrop of the survivors’ personal histories.

“I think it was amazing to stand in front of a group so large at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which historically has been the epitome of class, and to think that a bit over 60 years ago most of the people in that room were in a place so opposite and miserable. To be able to be a part of that and see hundreds of survivors dancing and dining, it’s breathtaking,” said Ducoffe.

Col. Ramon was aboard the Columbia, on a 16-day flight for science and research.  His mission ended abruptly when Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed during re-entry.

Roman was survived by his wife Rona, who attended as guest of honor at the naming ceremony, and their four children.