City greets news quietly, solemnly
No noisy outbursts, no large crowds, but calm confidence marks reaction to invasion
By Russell Porter
The people of New York City received the invasion news calmly. There was no celebration, no outburst of enthusiasm, no sign of fear or depression. The prevailing mood was one of deep solemnity, of sober realization that this was only the beginning, that the road might be hard and bloody and that many might lose sons and brothers before the battle was won.
At first the atmosphere was charged with anxiety and worry as the majority of New Yorkers awakened to gain their first information on the landings. Later, as the good news came in of initial successes and unexpectedly light losses, a feeling of quiet confidence and encouragement spread throughout the city. In every section of the five boroughs there were faith and hope in victory and the safety of U.S. and Allied soldiers and sailors. This spirit of quiet confidence was typical of the whole nation’s reaction to D-Day.
Churches held special services
Two attitudes were characteristic of New Yorkers on this most momentous day in American and world history. One was the kneeling posture, head bowed, eyes cast down in prayer; the other was the upright stance, head lifted, eyes raised to read the news on bulletin boards and electric signs. These symbolized the city’s principal reactions – a profound intensification of religious feeling, and a great hunger for news.
The first of these reactions was demonstrated in a spontaneous desire for prayer that swept over the entire city. Churches of every denomination were crowded. Special services were held, special masses and special prayers of intercession were said, special candles were lighted. In schools, hospitals, courtrooms, public buildings, theaters, war plants, stores, stock exchanges and other places where people congregate, routine proceedings were halted for brief prayers or moments of silence in tribute and respect to the armies of liberation. Hymns were sung at D-Day assemblies in the public schools, which held one-minute periods of silent devotion. Audiences stood with bowed heads in the theaters.
Mayor leads in prayer
Mayor La Guardia led a prayer in City Hall for the success of the Allied troops and for the comfort of mothers and wives of the soldiers and sailors. Archbishop Francis J. Spellman of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, read a “Prayer for America” at mass and later over the radio – a prayer he had composed himself, for a “just, merciful and wise” victory, for “guidance for our leaders” and “protection for our sons.” Bishop William T. Manning, officiating at the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, prayed for “speedy victory for the forces of right and freedom for the sake of all mankind,” and for “a righteous peace.” Rabbi Samuel H. Goldstein of Temple Emanu-El gave thanks for the fighting men of this and all the United Nations who have left their homes to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny and “establish justice among men and righteousness among peoples.”
All the churches and synagogues were open, from the big cathedrals to the smallest houses of worship and meeting halls. Fifty thousand attended a public prayer meeting at the Eternal Light in Madison Square.
The religious fervor was accompanied by a quick upsurge of patriotism, demonstrated particularly in a rush of blood donors to the Red Cross and in accelerated sales of war bonds and stamps.
The overwhelming demand for news from the front made itself felt on all sides. People gathered around the radios in their homes, in stores, in restaurants and bars, in taxis parked in the street and elsewhere, to get the latest bulletins, watched newsflashes on movie screens or waited at the newsstands for successive editions of the newspapers with the details.
Everywhere in the city the same spirit was reported. From the luxury apartments of Park Avenue to the tenements of the Lower East Side and Harlem, the German-American section in Yorkville and Little Italy, Chinatown and all such settlements, all the elements in New York’s melting pot reached in the same way.
Fifth Avenue, the city’s great showplace, was decked with American and Allied flags. The doors of the big churches in the avenue were flung wide open, and people kept going in and out all day long. Some of the big department stores closed at 1:00 p.m., others at 4:00 p.m. – out shut down for the entire day – so that their employees could attend church services. Many business officers closed early or gave their workers long lunch hours for the same purpose.
Large crowds are lacking
Except for the churchgoers, there were no unusual crowds. It was apparent that war workers had stuck to their jobs turning out more equipment for the Armed Forces instead of taking the day off to rush into the streets and demonstrate.
This was also true in Times Square, where people lined the sidewalks to watch the electric bulletins on The New York Times Tower but did not congregate in abnormal fashion; in Wall Street, and in the other main thoroughfares throughout the greater city.
If anything, the street crowds in the center of the city were smaller than normal yesterday and last night, presumably because people were staying home to listen to the radio and read the papers.
President Roosevelt’s invasion prayer was read to the audiences of Broadway theaters, which were crowded last night, as were the nightclubs. The audiences were kept informed of late news developments through announcements from the stage.
In some restaurants, no food or liquor was served during President Roosevelt’s broadcast of his prayer. Radios were turned out so the diners could listen and join in the prayer if they chose, and many did so.
In Wall Street, the buying and selling of stocks and bonds was halted briefly at both the New York Stock Exchange and the Curb Exchange while prayers were offered.
Wounded veterans of the Italian, North African and Pacific campaigns in this war joined in the prayers at the veterans’ hospitals in the city, while veterans of world War I took part in nonsectarian services held by American Legion posts and other veterans’ organizations. They made heartfelt pleas that casualties would be light in the Battle of Europe.
Soldiers and sailors of the United States and the allies, especially British and Canadian soldiers and British and French sailors, appeared on the streets in the usual numbers and were eyed with even more than the ordinary respect. They appeared to share the solemn mood of civilians. There did not seem to be as much skylarking as usual among the men on leave in the big city. Last night, they were not roistering around streets to any great extent. On the contrary, they were sitting in the United Service Organizations and other canteens, their ears glued to the radios, or their eyes fastened on the newspapers, just like everybody else.
