[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11502-11503]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         PRAYER TO HONOR THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE ARMED FORCES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, there was a time when our 
national leaders publicly felt the ability to invoke the Creator and 
invite His blessings on our national causes.
  On D-Day, June 6, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt read a 
nationally broadcast prayer as our troops landed at Normandy. I'm going 
to read this prayer in the House today, to both commemorate this event 
and honor the men and women of our Armed Forces.
  ``Almighty God, our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set 
forth upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our 
religion and our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity.

[[Page 11503]]

  ``Lead them straight and true. Give strength to their arms, stoutness 
to their hearts, steadfastness to 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 dull. Let not the impacts of temporary 
events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment, let not these deter 
us in your 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.''

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