Today marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day when Allied troops stormed the shores of Normandy, France, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s prayer is still as powerful now as it is then.
Roosevelt completely bypassed the media and instead went straight to the radio, 75 years ago, speaking directly with the American people in a time which some considered our ‘darkest hour’.
He asked not for a moment of prayer, or a night of prayer, but “continuance of prayer”. Roosevelt knew that this war would not be a sprint, but a marathon against the Nazi regime.
While the US is not in the same place it was 75 years ago, there are still wars being fought, uncertainty in our country and overseas, and instability all around. His words do not just apply to the men and women who fought on D-Day, or in World War II, but to every serviceman and American alive. In it, Roosevelt states that “Men’s souls will be shaken with the violence’s of war” – and a truer statement has never been spoken.
President Roosevelt’s prayer in its entirety can be read here.
