FDR and the Largest Mass Prayer in History

On this episode of Our American Stories, on June 6, 1944, as Allied troops fought through the waves at Normandy, Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to a nation holding its breath. Rather than delivering a speech, Roosevelt led the nation in prayer for the men fighting overseas. For six minutes, more than 100 million Americans bowed their heads as FDR called for faith in the face of war. Our host, Lee Habeeb, shares the story of Roosevelt’s D-Day prayer—and explains why it remains one of the most powerful moments of his presidency.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue here with our American stories. Up next,
the story of President Roosevelt's D Day prayer and why
it mattered to him and the nation. It was a
few minutes before ten pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, June sixth,
nineteen forty four, when President Franklin delan and Roosevelt commenced

(00:33):
his radio broadcast to an anxious nation. Earlier that day,
Americans learned that our soldiers, airmen, and seamen were embarked
on an invasion of massive proportions in Europe to liberate
the continent from Hitler's war machine. They crawled out of
the sea and dropped from the sky one hundred and
sixty thousand Allied troops, landing along a heavily fortified fifty

(00:57):
miles stretch of French coastline, supported by more than five
thousand ships and thirteen thousand aircraft. The stakes couldn't have
been higher, the nature of the battle could not have
been more clear. The fate of the free world hung
in the balance. Earlier that day, the President held a
press conference for more than one hundred and eighty reporters

(01:20):
about D Day, but provided no operational detail. He instead
expressed confidence in the operation's outcome by nine fifty seven
p m. It was time for the President to speak
directly to the nation about the invasion of Normandy. Roosevelt
understood that it would take more than just the mobilization

(01:40):
of our industrial power to beat back the forces of Hitler.
He hoped to harness our spiritual power too, which is
why his five hundred and thirty five word six minute
radio address took the form of a prayer. A prayer
Roosevelt himself wrote, with the assistance of his daughter Anna

(02:01):
and her husband, here is how the prayer begins.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
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

(02:32):
strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in
their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their role will
be long and hard, for the enemy is strong. He
may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with

(02:55):
rushing speed, but we shall return again and gain. And
we know that by Thy grace and by the righteousness
of our cause, our sons will.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Triumph Roosevelt then shifted his prayer to the difficulty of
the months and years to come, and the sacrifices our
troops and our nation would endure, the suffering, loss and
grief that was likely to come.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
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

(03:47):
to end the 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,

(04:08):
for their return to the haven of home. Some will
never return. Embrace these father and receive them thy heroic
servants into thy kingdom.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
Roosevelt then turned to Americans at home, pleading with them
to continue with their prayers and to make any and
all sacrifices to support America's fight to liberate Europe.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
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

(05:04):
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 to
strengthen our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make

(05:29):
in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.
And let our hearts be stout to wait out the
long travel, to bear sorrows that may come to impart

(05:50):
our courage, unto our suns, wheresoever they may be. And
Oh Lord God, give us faith, Give us faith in thee,
faith in our sons, faith in each other, faith in

(06:11):
our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit
ever be dulled.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
And this is how Roosevelt ended things. It may be
the most powerful and purposeful ending of any public address
by any American wartime president.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
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

(06:55):
unity that will spell a sure peace, a piece invulnerable
to the schemings of unworthy men, and a peace that
will let all men live in freedom. Reaping the just
rewards of their honest time. They will be done, Almighty God. Amen.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
Over one hundred million people worldwide heard Roosevelt's plea over
the airwaves, including many living in Nazi occupied Europe. One
teenage Jewish girl hidden in a tiny corner of Holland
was one of those millions. When she heard the American
President's prayerful voice invoking Almighty God, it gave her hope,

(07:50):
her name and Frank. Here's what she wrote in her
diary that day. The best part about the invasion is
that I have the feeling that friends are on the way.
The thoughts of friends and salvation mean everything to me.
Churches and synagogues in America were opened twenty four hours

(08:11):
a day to handle the spiritual demands of Americans seeking
strength and comfort, and they would continue to be a
spiritual source of strength and resolve throughout the war. As
for the costs of the invasion, Roosevelt was right. More
than forty four hundred Americans never returned home from that
opening day of fighting. By the time the battle for

(08:32):
Normandy had been won, twenty nine thousand lives had been lost,
one hundred thousand were wounded for missing in action, four
hundred and sixteen thousand Americans would lose their lives defending
the world from tyranny. America's industrial strength, our mineral and
energy resources, no doubt played a part in the ally victory.

(08:53):
So too did the courage and selflessness of our troops,
black and white, from every ethnic background, along with the
sacrifices of so many millions of Americans on the home front.
But the spiritual power, the prayer power of our people
was a resource too. It helped us endure and prevail,
providing peace in the midst of chaots, hope in the

(09:17):
midst of hopelessness. The story of the largest mass prayer
in American history and world history too, Roosevelt's d Day Prayer.
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