President Franklin D. Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer, Broadcast on June 6, 1944
Channel: US National Archives
Date: 2023-06-05

On the evening of June 6, 1944, Americans turned on their radios and listened to President Roosevelt announce the invasion of Nazi-held Normandy by Allied forces–an event now known as D-Day. The address took the form of a prayer.

The Normandy mission, called Operation Overlord, had been secret, despite the enormous amount of planning, material, and troops involved. The invasion would be a key moment for the Allies on the road to victory in World War II.

You can read a transcript of the prayer  and learn more about D-Day at www.fdrlibrary.org/d-day, or hear the full version of the audio recording on the Franklin D Roosevelt Presidential Library’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/a2IRcc-5RgA