D-Day Landing Prayer Read on US Senate Floor

The D-Day Landing Prayer Act took center stage on the U.S. Senate floor on Wednesday. Sen. Rob Portman and Sen. Joseph Lieberman jointly read the bill, along with the entire prayer President Franklin Delano Roosevelt prayed with the nation the morning of the D-Day landing.

Responding to the wishes of veterans and their families, Portman introduced the legislation, which will add FDR’s D-Day Landing Prayer in its entirety to the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. Portman urged his colleagues to pass it quickly.

“On D-Day, courageous Americans risked and sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedoms and end tyranny abroad. That morning, President Roosevelt asked our nation to come together to pray for the men overseas. His words brought strength and comfort to many during one of the most challenging times for our nation and will forever be etched in our history,” Portman said.

“This bill ensures that FDR’s prayer will become a permanent reminder of the sacrifice of those who fought in World War II, and of the power of prayer through difficult times. I encourage the Senate to take it up and pass it quickly.”

Ohio Christian Alliance President Chris Long noted that the legislation took another historic step getting time on the U.S. Senate floor. The last time this prayer was heard in the halls of the U.S. Senate was 68 years ago when Roosevelt prayed with the nation the morning of the Normandy invasion.

“This legislation has received broad bipartisan support and is worthy of the Senate quickly taking up the measure and presenting it to President Obama for his signature,” Long said. “The vast majority of WWII veterans and their families support this initiative. Many of these brave men, now in their ’80s and ’90s, remember clearly President Roosevelt praying with the nation the morning of the D-Day landings. It is only fitting that this wonderful historical presidential prayer be added to the WWII Memorial, honoring those brave men and women who served our country in WWII.”