A Prayer for the Nation – The D-Day Prayer Addition is Now Open to the Public

OCA President Chris Long with his wife Silvia visited the D-Day Prayer at the WWII Memorial for the first time on Saturday, January 21, 2023.

With no official announcement from the U.S. Parks Service, the prayer became accessible to the public on Tuesday, January 17^th. We were notified by Congressman Bill Johnson’s office that the prayer was now open to the public, so we headed down to D.C. to see the Prayer on Saturday. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO!

While viewing the prayer for the first time and taking some pictures, we waited to watch people come by and read the prayer. We first met a family from North Carolina, the Joneses. We told them the story of the prayer and the 11-year journey it took to get it in the ground and completed. They were thrilled to learn the story. Then, we met Skylar, a teenager from Minnesota with her parents. We watched as Skylar told her parents that she wanted to read the prayer aloud. She thought she was interrupting us and I told her, “No, you’re the reason why this prayer is here. It’s to learn about our national history.” After Skylar finished reading the prayer, we told her and her parents how it all came about. Her father thanked me and asked, “What made you want to do this? What does the prayer mean to you?” I told him that it’s here for the honor of The Greatest Generation, as it will keep telling their story of commitment and sacrifice for the cause of freedom.

The day was getting late as we watched more people come to read the prayer. I didn’t really know how I would feel on this day after seeing the prayer for the first time after so many years of working on this project wondering if it would ever get done. I thought about all the veterans we met over the years who have since passed on, men who had encouraged us to keep going and get it done!

Now I realize that it is in the quiet reading of this national prayer that the reader will come to understand that it was not by the strength of arms alone that the ultimate victory over the unholy forces of tyranny was secured for us, but rather our reliance upon Almighty God that secured for us a lasting peace “a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen." 

Now, this National Prayer will keep telling the story for generations to come.

Next time you are in Washington D.C. visit the D-Day Prayer addition at the WWII Memorial on the Mall.