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Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 12:17 am
by williatw
"For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. "
Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer


June 6, 1944
My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas -- whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them--help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.

Amen.


http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/odddayp.html


Audio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-weBUzQleo

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:31 pm
by williatw
paperburn1 wrote:I remember stories from those that were in WW2 and served
yes without question "We are not worthy"
Amen to that.

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 3:50 am
by choff
My dad told me when the war started in '39, the men all joined up to feed their families, most of them didn't come back. Nothing to do with King and country, people were hungry, the depression was that bad.

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:53 am
by williatw
choff wrote:My dad told me when the war started in '39, the men all joined up to feed their families, most of them didn't come back. Nothing to do with King and country, people were hungry, the depression was that bad.
But these were overwhelmingly American soldiers choff prosecuting the D-day invasion, they (& their families) is whom Roosevelt is addressing; and we didn't join the war until after December 7, 1941. And it was very much fueled by our patriotism and also rage against the Japs for daring to bomb Pearl Harbor; "The day that will live in infamy". We (Americans) were strongly isolationists in 1939 in spite of the Depression, and we remained so until after Pearl Harbor.

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 3:37 pm
by choff
The movie "The Longest Day" almost didn't even mention this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_Beach

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:08 am
by williatw
To FDR and the so called "greatest generation", their like will probably never come this way again

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 1:18 pm
by Tom Ligon
This day always makes me remember the 116th Infantry, the Bedford Boys, and the 111th Field Artillery. My dad lost a good friend that day.

http://www.tomligon.com/Toms/Dad/FA111.pdf

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 1:50 pm
by ladajo
I salute my father and those of his time who assumed this burden for humanity. May we not squander what they paid for.

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 7:50 pm
by williatw
Today we mark another milestone: the 74th anniversary of #DDay, the Allied invasion of Normandy. On June 6, 1944, more than 70,000 brave young Americans charged out of landing craft, jumped out of airplanes, and stormed into hell...







https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 5046862850

Re: Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:19 am
by williatw
Published on Jun 5, 2019


President Trump marked the D-Day anniversary by reading an excerpt from a prayer President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered to the nation by radio on the evening of June 6, 1944, in which he spoke to the country for the first time about the Normandy operation.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn57OGl29Dk