Whereas public prayer and national days of prayer are a
long-standing American tradition to bolster national resolve and summon the
national will for victory;
Whereas the Continental Congress asked the colonies to
pray for wisdom in forming a nation in 1775;
Whereas Benjamin Franklin proposed that the Constitutional
Convention begin each day with a prayer;
Whereas General George Washington, as he prepared his
troops for battle with the British in May 1776, ordered them to pray for the
campaign ahead, that it would please the Almighty to prosper the arms of
the united colonies
and establish the peace and freedom of
America upon a solid and lasting foundation
;
Whereas President Abraham Lincoln, in declaring in the
Gettysburg Address that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth
of freedom
, rededicated the Nation to ensuring that government
of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the
earth
;
Whereas, as 73,000 Americans stormed the beaches at
Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
went on the national radio to lead the Nation in prayer for their
success;
Whereas, in his D-Day radio prayer, President Roosevelt
did not declare a single day of special prayer, but instead compelled all
Americans to devote themselves in a continuance of
prayer
;
Whereas the words of President Roosevelt calling on all
Americans to devote themselves in a continuance of prayer
for
American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines in harm’s way are just as
appropriate today as they were in June 1944;
Whereas, with our troops once again facing danger abroad
and the Nation looking for support here at home, the time is ripe to once again
heed the words and prayerful wisdom contained in the D-Day radio address of the
20th century’s greatest Democrat president as he implored the Nation: 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
;
Whereas more than 350,000 men and women of the United
States Armed Forces are deployed worldwide today;
Whereas more than 200,000 of these troops are engaged in
armed combat in Iraq and Afghanistan against determined and ruthless
enemies;
Whereas more than 3,800 brave Americans have been killed,
and over 26,000 have been wounded, while fighting the War on Terror;
Whereas, because the War on Terror will be long and hard,
because success is not likely to come with rushing speed, and because the
sacrifice will continue to be immeasurable in human terms, it is appropriate to
make every anniversary of D-Day, June 6th, a national day of prayer and
rededication for the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their
mission; and
Whereas the D-Day radio address of President Roosevelt is
the inspiration and model for this annual national day of prayer and
rededication: Now, therefore, be it
That—
(1)every June 6 will
hereafter be a national day of prayer and rededication for the men and women of
the United States Armed Forces and their mission; and
(2)in encouraging
our fellow Americans to join us in this national day of prayer and rededication
for our troops and their mission, that the Senate and the House of
Representatives will each designate one member to read aloud in the Senate and
House chambers each June 6th, in its entirety, President Roosevelt’s D-Day
radio prayer, as follows:
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 goodwill 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 arrogances. 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..