Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Try to imagine the President of the United States going on the radio (TV, etc.) to do something like this today. D-Day, the Allied invasion at Normandy to begin the liberation of Europe from the Nazi's was 66 years ago today. And FDR spoke to the nation...

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.

Interestingly, just now I'm listening to XM Radio's old time radio station, with Orson Welles' Mercury Theater broadcast for the day after D-Day. Agnes Morehead is narrating and, suddenly, what do I hear? An actor portraying FDR saying this prayer over the air!

Hat tip to TitusOneNine, where Canon Harmon posted this last week. This copy is the from Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy...

Yes, it was 68 years ago today, some 17 years before I was born. Nevertheless, this is in my bones. And what follows remains a marvelous speech that evokes in my mind "President of the United States" — even if it is "That Man." You can listen to it here from a radio broadcast, but if you're like me, you can hear the voice just by reading the words.


Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:

Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area.

The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. [applause]

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. [cheers, applause]

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. [applause]

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God. [applause]

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.

[applause, cheers]

More '40s Reunion

A story and photos of the Canoga Park High School 1940s Reunion now appears on the school's website. See if you can pick out my dad (Class of Winter 1944) in any of the photos!

Update: (6 March 2008) -- The story is gone, but the photos can be found here.

Greatest Generation shares Canoga Park High stories

I'm back in Peoria after attending the Canoga Park High School Class of 1977 Reunion. So I didn't get to see Dennis McCarthy's LA Daily News column this Sunday. No, nothing about Cardinal Mahoney. Rather, it was another CPHS Reunion, one week after mine -- officially the Classes of 1944-47, though all '40s alums were invited. My Dad graduated in January 1944, and this was the first reunion he'd attended.

The Eisenhowers sat across from the Trumans at the picnic table as the star quarterback talked about milking cows before school.

For a few precious hours Saturday, Canoga Park High School's Greatest Generation came home one more time.

More than 170 silver-haired grads from all the school's classes in the 1940s - and a few from the 1930s - gathered in the quad to eat hamburgers and hot dogs, share old stories and remember when they could look south from the school and see nothing but alfalfa fields all the way to Ventura Boulevard.

After lunch, they filed past stands of old black-and-white class pictures of themselves and stopped at a table set up to determine who had the most children, the most marriages, the most husbands and other "mosts."

Then they walked into their old high school auditorium for the first time in more than 60 years to sit on hard wooden seats and sing their alma mater one more time before honoring one of their own with his long overdue high school diploma.

Joe Osaki had gone to grammar school with most of them, but he didn't get to go to high school with them.

His high school diploma is from Manzanar High School, a makeshift school set up on the grounds of an internment camp for Japanese-American families during World War II.

"I can remember the military police coming on campus that day and taking him away," said former classmate Joe Beckwith.

"We were all stunned. It was so sad. He was our friend. We had grown up together, played together. He wasn't a threat to anyone."

But after only two months at Canoga High in 1941, Joe Osaki was gone.

Sixty-six years later, the high school classmates he never had stood and applauded as Canoga Park High School Principal Pam Hamashita - whose own parents were interned at Manzanar - handed Joe his diploma from Canoga Park High.

Read it all here.

Four Canoga students were, with their families, sent to Internment Camps during World War II, three to Manzanar in California's Owens Valley (from where Los Angeles gets much of its water), one to Heart Mountain in Wyoming. Mr. Osaki is the second to receive a belated CPHS diploma under recent California legislation, the first being Dorothy Morita in 2006. Thanks to modern technology (and family connections -- have I mentioned that the teachers who oversee the school's website are my brother and his wife?), the school has been able to re-create a genuine 1940s-era Canoga Park High diploma, including the signatures of school officials at the time.

Dad isn't mentioned in McCarthy's article, but on the phone he was telling me of watching the Daily News columnist at work. I'm not sure whose reunion was more fun, but it looks like Dad's was more newsworthy.

Update (31 July 2007) -- A story and photos of the CPHS '40s Reunion now appears on the school website. See if you can find my dad in any of the photos!

Update again (6 March 2008) -- The story's gone, but the photos are here. spt+