Posted on 05/02/2013 10:42:12 PM PDT by thouworm
THE WHITEHOUSE - WASHINGTON
January 25, 1941
To the Armed Forces:
As Commander-in-Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the Sacred Book words of wisdom, counsel and inspiration. It is a fountain of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul.
Very sincerely yours,
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
My father-in-law gave us his old Bibles yesterday. He gave us the large family Bible in which family history as far back at 1820 is recorded. He also gave us several small Bibles that he had collected throughout the years. One in particular was of interest to me. It is a small military pocket Bible, the New Testament, and inside the front cover is written, “To Charles King, From Jim Palmer. May 23rd, 1941.” My father-in-law said it was given to him when he was a young cadet at Peacock Military Academy in San Antonio, by a man who ran a tailor shop where the cadets had their uniforms fitted.
The interesting thing about this Bible, is that it contains a letter to the Armed Forces from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, encouraging them to read the Bible. Also printed in this Bible are all three stanzas of our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. We rarely hear the entire song, and the third stanza is quite revealing of the mindset of early Americans. Here are the words to the third stanza, as written in this military pocket Bible:
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
On this Memorial Day weekend, some 70 years later, it is interesting to note that the Word of Jesus Christ was not politically incorrect in 1941. In fact, Bibles were given to members of the Armed Forces, and the president encouraged them to read it.
May God bless our troops, past, present and future. And may it never be so politically incorrect for us to comfort our military with the word of God.
Rose King
My, how times have changed.... for the worse.
I have never seen this letter and Bible before.
What a needed reminder of the way things were before the Marxist atheists tried to take over and co-opt God and our Constitution.
Paraphrasing a verse in Proverbs, God said to Israel, “Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set.”
It shocked me when I saw it.
And from a damned democrat, no less.
This is very true -- and still I get crap here on FR that I didn't vote for Obama's Political Clone, Romney.
In addition - While he never made a public pronouncement on abortion (not being the hot-button issue then that it is today) those who knew JFK privately speculated that his adherence to Catholic Doctrine (in public at least) would have put him firmly in the “pro-life” camp.
American Minute from William J. Federer
A Joint Resolution of the 97th U.S. Congress proclaimed “A Year of the Bible.”
It was signed by Democrat Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil, Republican President of the Senate Strom Thurmond and President Ronald Reagan, who stated OCTOBER 4, 1982:
“Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people, do hereby proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible in the United States.
“I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to reexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message.”
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