As I have said before, you cannot order up a
great attack on a Monday and demand that it be delivered on
Saturday.
Less than a month ago I flew in a big Army transport plane over the
little town of Bethlehem, in Palestine.
Tonight, on Christmas Eve, all men and women everywhere who love
Christmas are thinking of that ancient town and of the star of
faith that shone there more than nineteen centuries ago.
American boys are fighting today in snow-covered mountains, in
malarial jungles, on blazing deserts; they are fighting on the far
stretches of the sea and above the clouds, and fighting for the
thing for which they struggle. I think it is best symbolized by the
message that came out of Bethlehem.
On behalf of the American people--your own people--I send this
Christmas message to you, to you who are in our armed forces:
In our hearts are prayers for you and for all your comrades in arms
who fight to rid the world of evil.
We ask God's blessing upon you--upon your fathers, mothers, wives
and children--all your loved ones at home.
We ask that the comfort of God's grace shall be granted to those
who are sick and wounded, and to those who are prisoners of war in
the hands of the enemy, waiting for the day when they will again be
free.
And we ask that God receive and cherish those who have given their
lives, and that He keep them in honor and in the grateful memory of
their countrymen forever.
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