FDR's D-Day Prayer...
Roosevelt's address stands as a testament to how much our
nation has changed since that evening in the late spring of 1944.
Franklin Roosevelt is not remembered for
his religious dogma. Yet 68 years ago on the night of June 6, as tens of
thousands of American and Allied forces were flung into a caldron of fire in
Western Europe, the president and commander in chief sought to calm an anxious
nation as he spoke to his people. It was a presidential address that stands out
as a testament to how much our nation has changed since that evening in the late
spring of 1944.
Beginning around midnight the night
before, elements of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions had landed behind
enemy lines in France. They were followed seven hours later by massive landings
on beaches in Normandy code-named Sword, Juneau, Gold, Omaha and Utah.
Americans began hearing special reports in
the middle of the night and they continued to follow events closely throughout
the day. At lunch counters and in offices and factories, people clustered around
their radios. So it was both natural and necessary that the president say
something.
Yet instead of giving a news
account—something Americans had already heard from network radio news and read
in their evening papers—Franklin Roosevelt chose a different course. He led the
nation in prayer.
"Almighty God," Roosevelt began, "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."
There were mothers and fathers listening
intently to that broadcast whose sons were already caught up in the middle of it
all. Some of those young men were
already lost. Roosevelt understood this,
yet he never sugarcoated the realities.
"They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest until victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and by flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war." "Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, thy heroic servants, into thy kingdom."
Somehow, Roosevelt understood what the
nation needed to hear. This was an American president unafraid to embrace God
and to define an enemy that clearly rejected the norms of humanity. And if the
nature of the enemy was not clear to everyone that night, it would be made
resoundingly clear as the armies advanced into Germany 10 months later. But
Roosevelt also knew that the nation would have to stay true to its course, and
for that he offered a moment as well.
"Oh 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. With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances."
Americans hung on every word. They needed
to rededicate and redouble their efforts, much as Lincoln had reminded them at
Gettysburg in the middle of another dark period. Now, almost an equal time has
passed since D-Day, and it seems strangely difficult for our leaders to clearly
define our values, our way of life, our causes for going to war to defend our
ideals. It is unfathomable today that a president would embrace God the way
Roosevelt did on that night.
Imagine a president, any president,
sitting in the Oval Office ending an address to the nation, in a slow,
deliberate cadence, like this:
"Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen."
Yet that is how Franklin Roosevelt signed
off that D-Day night.
Yes, it is presidential to offer public
prayers for our nation and our people.
Certainly our nation’s founding fathers did it. Why did we stop? Although our government is intentionally
secular, it was meant to be supportive of religious faith, especially the
Christian faith. And still today, more
than three-quarters of our people say they believe in the God of the Bible. This should be reflected in who we elect to
public office. Otherwise, when we leave
God out of national concerns, we are asking for failure. - bea
