Eighty-one years ago this week, President Franklin Roosevelt issued what would be his last peacetime Thanksgiving Day proclamation.
A Proclamation
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate and set aside Thursday, the twentieth day of November, 1941, as a day to be observed in giving thanks to the Heavenly Source of our earthly blessings. . . .
. . . On the day appointed for this purpose, let us reflect at our homes or places of worship on the goodness of God and, in giving thanks, let us pray for a speedy end to strife and the establishment on earth of freedom, brotherhood, and justice for enduring time.
(You can read the rest of the proclamation here.)
For thousands of Americans, who would lose their lives in the first year of the war, this was their final Thanksgiving. I am sure you share my gratitude for the sacrifices made by these fallen and their families.
This Thanksgiving season I am thankful for the hundreds of volunteers who are contributing to the success of Stories Behind the Stars.
I am thankful for the hundred plus volunteers who are researching and writing the stories of all WWII fallen buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Overall, hundreds of volunteers have written stories for nearly 22,000 WWII fallen. It is great progress but we hope to get more help to complete the remaining 399,000 stories. Please share out info about this project to those who may be interested.
Thank you all!
Giving Tuesday
If you participate in Giving Tuesday this November 29, please consider donating to Stories Behind the Stars. We will be focusing on raising funds to renew our customer relationship management platform, Network For Good. It costs us $3,000 a year, but for less than $10 a day, it is a bargain for what it allows us to do.
I will send out a email next Tuesday with more details.