May 26, 2013
The Obama administration is opposing legislation that would add President Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day prayer to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.
At a House hearing Thursday, Robert Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management, said a plaque or inscription of the prayer that Roosevelt read on a radio broadcast to the nation on June 6, 1944, would "dilute" the memorial's central message.
As U.S and allied troops launched the invasion that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany, FDR asked the nation to join him in prayer. He then asked God to give the allied troops courage and faith, saying, "With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy."
A World War II veteran, 87-year-old George "Poppy" Fowler, told a House committee that the prayer should be added to the memorial. He said, "This prayer came at a perilous time, yet it was answered in victory at a dear cost of lives."
The legislation calls for the plaque or inscription to be paid for with private donations.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
