A new addition has been revealed at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
During a ceremony on Dec. 20, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and other special guests joined together for the unveiling of the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt D-Day Prayer Plaque at the memorial’s Circle of Remembrance.
“This prayer is finally in its right position here,” said Portman, who introduced the bipartisan legislation, the World War II Memorial Prayer Act, which directed the Secretary of the Interior to install a plaque at or near the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. inscribed with the words of the prayer Roosevelt shared with the nation on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Roosevelt’s D-Day prayer was not included on the World War II Memorial when it was completed and dedicated in 2004. In 2014, President Barack Obama signed into law the legislation directing that it be added to the memorial.
Jeff Reinbold, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks for the National Park Service., said the addition is going to be a great addition to the site.
“It links back to the original memorial and then also opens this way in a very creative and interesting way. It’s going to be a great setting for the centerpiece of this prayer plaque.”
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The legislation also stipulated that no federal funds could be used to implement the directive, leading the Friends of the National World War II Memorial to take on the responsibility of designing and funding the project.
A $2 million grant by Lilly Endowment Inc. allowed Friends to complete the effort, which began in 2015, to not only add the D-Day Prayer to the World War II Memorial but to restore the Circle of Remembrance – the area where the prayer is placed.
“The restoration of the Circle of Remembrance with the bronze plaque inscribed with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer is an important and meaningful addition to the memorial,” said Executive Director of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial Holly Rotondi. “It will provide a contemplative space to reflect on and to remember the more than 400,000 American souls lost during World War II.”
During the ceremony, Portman shared his favorite part of the prayer: "For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate."
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“That’s what our troops have done consistently through the years and what they continue to do today,” he said.
The Circle of Remembrance is expected to be open to the public by the end of the year and a formal dedication will take place in 2023.
“As I walked through the memorial this morning to come to this site, I couldn’t help but to reflect and remember what we owe this great generation that not only saved our nation but with our allies saved the world,” said retired Army Lt. Gen. Mick Kicklighter board member of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial. “What a different place it would have been if we had not had that dedication.”
To learn more about the Friends of the National World War II Memorial, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.