Armistice Day 1942 (11-11-42)

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Armistice Day
November 11, 1942, 11:00 a.m. EWT

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D-NY)

Broadcast, Nov. 11, 11:00 a.m. EWT (MBS):

Here in Arlington, we are in the presence of the honored dead.

We are accountable to them – and to the generations yet unborn for whom they gave their lives.

Today, as on all Armistice Days since 1918, our thoughts go back to the First World War, and we remember with gratitude the bravery of the men who fought and helped to win that fight against German militarism.

But this year our thoughts are also very much of the living present, and of the future which we begin to see opening before us – a picture illumined by a new light of hope.

Today, Americans and their British brothers-in-arms are again fighting on French soil. They are again fighting against a German militarism which transcends a hundred-fold the brutality and barbarism of 1918.

The Nazis of today – and their appropriate associates, the Japanese have attempted to drive history into reverse, to use all the mechanics of modern civilization to drive humanity back to conditions of pre-historic savagery.

They sought to conquer the world, and for a time they seemed to be successful in realizing their boundless ambition. They over ran great territories. They enslaved – they killed.

But, today, we know and they know that they have conquered nothing. Today, they face inevitable, final defeat.

The forces of liberation are advancing.

Britain, Russia, China and the United States grow rapidly to full strength. The opponents of decency and justice have passed their peak.

And – as the result of recent events – the United Nations’ forces are being joined by large numbers of the fighting men of our traditional ally, France. On this day, of all days, it is heartening for us to know that soldiers of France go forward with the United Nations.

The American Unknown Soldier who lies here did not give his life on the fields of France merely to defend his American home for the moment that was passing. He gave it that his family, his neighbors, and all his fellow Americans might live in peace in the days to come. His hope was not fulfilled.

American soldiers are giving their lives today in all the continents and on all the seas in order that the dream of the Unknown Soldier may at last come true. All the heroism and all the unconquerable devotion that free men and women are showing in this war shall make certain the survival and the advancement of civilization. That is why on this day of remembrance we do not cease from our work, and that in going about our tasks in behalf of our fighting men everywhere, our thoughts turn in gratitude to those who have saved our nation in days gone by.

We stand in the presence of the honored dead.

We stand accountable to them, and to the generations yet unborn for whom they gave their lives.

God, the Father of all living, watches over these hallowed graves and blesses the souls of those who rest here. May He keep us strong in the courage that will win this war, and may He impart to us the wisdom and the vision that we shall need for true victory in the peace which is to come.

At this moment, great events are taking place in France and Africa, and I think it is particularly appropriate that we greet here today the General of the Armies of the United States.

And I know that I speak for all of you here – I know that I speak for all Americans – men, women and children, in every part of this great land – that I extend our American affectionate greetings to General Pershing.

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The Pittsburgh Press (November 11, 1942)

French help us, Roosevelt says

‘They didn’t die in vain,’ President declares at Arlington

Washington (UP) –
President Roosevelt welcomes “large numbers of the fighting men” of France who have joined the United Nations in an Armistice Day speech in which he paid tribute to Americans who died on French soil in 1918.

Standing in the cold, wind-swept amphitheater of Arlington National Cemetery, Mr. Roosevelt said Axis forces faced “inevitable, final defeat” which would bring true the dream of the Unknown Soldier of 1918 who fought that his fellow Americans “might live in peace in the days to come.”

Participating with the President in ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was 82-year-old Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the armies of the United States and leader of the victorious American forces in World War I.

Pershing beside Roosevelt

The aged general, huddled in a campaign greatcoat of 1918 style, stood by the President as taps sounded over the tomb where rests “in honored glory” an American soldier “known only to God.”

Later, while Mr. Roosevelt spoke, Gen. Pershing sat beside him wrapped in several blankets to ward off the cold.

Lt. Col. Chester Hammon, White House military aide, laid a wreath of yellow chrysanthemums on the Unknown Soldier’s tomb on behalf of the President, while leaders of the Army, Navy and the American Legion looked on. The national commander of the Legion, Roane Waring, and Mrs. Alfred J. Mathebat, Legion auxiliary president, spoke after the President.

The President said:

Today, Americans and their British brothers-in-arms are again fighting on French soil. They are again fighting against a German militarism which transcends a hundred-fold the brutality and barbarism of 1918.

Pays tribute to general

The President, extending his prepared remarks, paid tribute to Gen. Pershing.

He said:

At this moment, great events are taking place in France and Africa, and I think it is particularly appropriate that we greet here today the General of the Armies of the United States.

And I know that I speak for all of you here – I know that I speak for all Americans – men, women and children, in every part of this great land – that I extend our American affectionate greetings to Gen. Pershing.

‘Make history in reverse’

Declaring that “forces of liberation are advancing,” Mr. Roosevelt said:

Britain, Russia, China and the United States grow rapidly to full strength. The opponents of decency and justice have passed their peak.

And – as the result of recent events – the United Nations’ forces are being joined by large numbers of the fighting men of our traditional ally, France. On this day, of all days, it is heartening for us to know that soldiers of France go forward with the United Nations.

The President said:

The Nazis of today – and their appropriate associates, the Japanese have attempted to drive history into reverse, to use all the mechanics of modern civilization to drive humanity back to conditions of pre-historic savagery.

He continued:

They sought to conquer the world, and for a time they seemed to be successful in realizing their boundless ambition. They overran great territories. They enslaved – they killed.

But, today, we know and they know that they have conquered nothing. Today, they face inevitable, final defeat.

Standing “in the presence of the honored dead,” Mr. Roosevelt said that those who gave their lives in the last war did not do so merely to defend their American homes “for the moment that was passing.”

Pershing at ceremonies

Throughout the nation, scores of ceremonies will mark the observance, but war industries will continue to operate full blast to produce the materials for the present war and – unlike other Armistice Days – most other businesses will remain open.

Although this was the first Armistice Day to be observed with the United States actively engaged in war, it came at a time when optimism over eventual victory for the democracies was at its highest peak.

Calls on all to help

In his Armistice Day proclamation, Mr. Roosevelt noted that:

The United States, in company with the United Nations, must once more champion the essential freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear – on a worldwide battlefield.

He said that:

Faith can be kept with those who died in the First World War only by resolutely prosecuting to final victory in the great war in which we are now engaged, and by crowning that victory with a peace which shall safeguard and extend those essential freedoms.

Then he called on the people of the United States to rededicate the nation:

…to the great task of winning this war and building a just peace in order that we and our children may live in a world made free to work toward human advancement.