 My prepared text today was to have been make thy name be remembered in all generations. But I think I'm going to depart from my prepared sermon. While I was listening to the sergeant's solo, I kept looking up at our service flag. I was thinking of the men in service. I see some of them here this morning. Private Roberts. Sergeant Jackson. Lieutenant Carter. And, um... Private Park, first class. First class is right. I was over at the USO the other night, and I met somebody I hadn't seen in quite a long time. The last time I saw this man, well, one of my members treated me to a ticket to Yankee Stadium to see Joe Lewis versus Max Smaley, American fist, won a victory. But it wasn't the final victory. No, that victory is going to take a little longer and a whole lot more American fist. Now those two men that were matched in the ring that night are matched again. This time in a far greater arena and for much greater stakes. Max Smaley, a paratrooper and a Nazi army. Men turned into machines, challenging the world, waiting for the fight of his life. This time it's a fight not between man and man, but between nation and nation. It's a fight for the real championship of the world to determine which way of life shall survive, their way or our way. And this time we must see to it that there is no return engagement. For the stakes this time are the greatest men have ever fought for. And what are the stakes? The American stakes, the German stakes, the Bible of the Nazis, the gospel according to Hitler. I'm not going to read all of this, but there are one or two things in this book that will interest you. I quote, What is denied to us the German fist must take. If our forefathers had made their decisions by the same pacifist nonsense as the present day does, we would possess for a third of our existing territory. Further he says, From time to time the illustrated papers show how a Negro has become a lawyer, a teacher, perhaps even a minister. It never dawns on the degenerate middle class America that this is truly a sin against all reasons, that it is criminal madness to train a born half ape until one believes one has made a lawyer of him. This book was written 20 years ago. The plan which it foreshadowed has become a reality. And the Nazis now instruct their disciples in terms such as these. We must strive by any means to conquer the world. Any methods are permissible. Lie, betray, kill, kill and kill again. Kill the Slavs, the Russians, the Poles, the Czechs. Don't stop whether you have an old man, a woman, a girl or boy killed. We want to create our great German empire. We must exterminate everybody who stands against us. The liberty of the whole earth depends on the outcome of this contest. Americans have always guarded liberty. The sea took root in Boston. In that city is the Granary Burial Ground, 1660. Within this ground are buried the victims of the Boston massacre, March 5, 1770. The first to die in the Boston Massacre was Christmas Addicts. Long as freedoms cause the wise contend, dear to our country shall your fame extend. While to the world the lettered stones shall tell were called well Addicts, Grey and Maverick fell. At Concord Bridge, Sam Cran, John Ferret, helped to fire the shopper around the world. At Bunker Hill, on June 17, 1775, gunned along to Peter Salem, a colored man who carried it at Nexington, Concord and Bunker Hill, and with its shot Major Pitcair. And on Christmas Day, 1776, when all but the bravest hearts had lost hope, Prince Whipple took his place alongside those who pushed on. In the winter of 78 at Valley Forge, George Washington wrote, Our soldiers have been a week without food. They are naked and starving. We cannot enough admire their unshakable patience and loyalty. Here Samuel Haynes, Salem poor, thousands of others, let their bleeding footprints in the snow. In this war, the people of the new world won their independence. They joined hands, and 13 colonies became the United States. Then the people of the new republic began to build. Together, they pioneered, and together they made territories into states. By 1812, a wilderness was becoming a great nation. Then came war. At Lake Erie, Tyler Thompson heard Admiral Perry's immortal words, We have met the enemy, and they are ours. When General Jackson said, By the eternal they shall not sleep on our soil, Thomas Wilson was there. America began to build ships. Then came 1861. As government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from this earth. With malice toward none, with charity for all. Then America began to rebuild. Jim fought in the Spanish-American war. At Santiago, Cuba, the 1910s cavalry, the 24th and 25th infantry, added to their long record new medals of courage and gallantry. I am Jim. After we cleaned up in Cuba, we went on with building factories, cities, everything. As for me, well, I went to Panama to help on a little job. A little job, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific. A little job. What his sons were, serving with the 813th Pioneer Regiment near Marseille, the 332nd Labor Battalion, and the 800th Pioneer Regiment near Verdun. Fighting with the 8th Illinois on the soisons front, on the plains among 171st at Bucy Farm in the Argonne, fought on the line of fire for 191 days. Not a man ever kept, not a foot of ground ever lost. The first American troops to receive the Fade Gare, the 369th. And for action above and beyond the call of duty, many received honored medals. When they cleaned up in France, the boys came marching home. As Henry Johnson, who was one companion, Needham Roberts, killed the four and captured 28 Germans, for which the French nation decorated them for exceptional bravery. And there were those among the honored at Arlington, Samuel Washington, Walter Waters, William Fox, John Sims, Young, Charles Young, Colonel, United States Army. And to their memory, sermons in stone and bronze, tributes of a grateful nation, to commemorate their heroism and sacrifice of all college soldiers who served in the various wars engaged in by the United States of America, that a lasting record shall be made of their unselfish devotion to duty. And in France at Bucy Farm, the French people erected a memorial to the 371st infantry. This stone and the ground on which it stands are dedicated to the Negro troops who fought and died here on April 21, 1918. Twenty-three years later, on June 15, 1941, an invading German army... Yes, the Nazis destroyed our monuments in France, but our monuments here stand and will always stand. The founder of Tuskegee Institute, Brooker T. Washington, 1856, 1915, he lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry. The late George Washington Carver honored in the chemistry of agriculture and the men and women building the monuments of tomorrow. Law, elected judge of New York City courts, serving his second 10-year term. Explore the only other American with Admiral Peary when our flag was planted on the North Pole. Medicine, leading New York City surgeon, father of the blues, financier and publisher, contributing to the war-bound drive. Education, principal of a New York City public school, Schoenberg Collection of Literature, international prize-winning sculpture. Singer, educated in schools like... We're starting! Welcome to Berlin, and 51 nations are represented here today. The six fastest spinters of the world are getting ready. Oh, and America, Westmeyer, Germany, and Metcalf of America. Landcuts, Germany, Tanaka, Japan. He drops out two, far as now 2.03 meters high at 6 feet 8 inches, and Johnson of America. The key of liberty has borne these... It's a mighty tree with roots deep in the ground of America. Its fame has spread to the four corners of the earth. Men of every faith have helped to nourish it and to sow its seed in new ground. All men stand in admiration of it, except the Nazis and the Japanese militarists. The fills of the New Order. There is not a man alive who does not know the crimes of these adventurers. In Europe, in order of the German army high command, thousands of innocent men, women, and children have been shot and hanged. In Asia, the Japanese army... the savior of the colored races. On December the 7th, to bring to justice the ring in America's army in every branch of the service. Artillery, tank, quartermaster, engineer... Don't forget the infantry. Yes? My boy is in the infantry. He's up there. Third from the left in the bottom row. I got a letter from him last night. He's an officer. Robert, did he get to be an officer? Yes, he said so right here. Dear mama, at last it's happened. I'm an officer. Lieutenant Robert A. Bronson, infantry. Don't it sound good? Of course I haven't got my bars yet. But I'm on my way to officer's candidate school for four months, and if I pass the examination and graduate and get my commission, I'll be an officer. Now I can do it, mama. If I could go through those first 13 weeks the way I did, I can go through anything. That morning at the railroad depot, I didn't know which side was up, but Miserie sure loves company. When I said goodbye to you, I was laughing, but I wasn't tickled. I heard when I stopped at some place in the middle of nowhere. On behalf of the United States Army and the reception center here at this camp, we're glad to welcome you here today and into the United States Army. We're glad to see all of your happy, smiling faces. Now, fellas, during the few days that you'll be with us here at this camp, you'll be converted from a civilian into a full-fledged soldier. You'll be interviewed by someone who'll inquire into your past life before you came into the Army. Machines are the construction of guns and gun parts. That's right. What machines did you operate? I operated boring mills, tool bindings, drill presses, planes... and... Forward! Forward! Quick! Hut! Hut! Hut! Hut! Hut! Hang it up! Hang it up! Nobody! Hold! Hold! But I don't want to give you the impression that it's only for religious services and advice that you can come for the chapter. You can come to him at any time. For example, if you get in trouble with your girlfriend and she doesn't write to you anymore and you want to know how to propose, why just come see the chaplain and he'll give you some advice. Or if you get in trouble with your first side and you want to know how to handle him, just come around and see the chaplain and he'll give you some advice. Or if you're financially embarrassed, why that's simple too. Just come around and see the chaplain and he'll give you some advice. The chaplain has just told you how to get along in this man's army. It's my painful duty to tell you what'll happen to you if you don't get along. Regarding this salute, man, it isn't a form of servility. It's merely a form of recognition used between members of the military service. The average man, when he first learns the salute, is awkward. It's a strange gesture to him and he feels shy. He usually sneaks his hand up in this manner and gives the broken-handed salute. Or lowers his eyes gently like a shy maiden and salutes like that. When you salute an officer, stand erect like a soldier. Bring your hand up to your forehead in a military manner. Tip of the forefinger above the center of the right eye. Now make sure your thumb is alongside your hand because if it's out here, they may misconstrue it. Then cut the hand garbage at the side. Don't let it drop down like a dead fish. Hold it! Hold on! Sit down. Put your feet in the machine. One L on a ten-and-a-half day is about now. Pick up both weights. Put the weights back. Sit down. Put your shoes on and go in the next room. Thanks. Hold it! Hold it! All right, men. Strip down completely. Put every piece of civilian clothing that you have into that bag. Now when you're completely stripped and have everything into that bag, put on a set of summer underwear, a pair of shorts, a pair of white woolen socks. All right. Now you try on your green herring bones for TIG hat first. That's the green hat with a brim eye. Try it on. If it fits, place it into your barracks bag. Now don't mind if it's a little loose. But I made it. All of us made it. They put us through so many twists and turns we didn't know whether we were coming or going. But Uncle Sam did. We were going. He put us on the train that same afternoon for the replacement center. We kept passing troop trains going back and forth all over the country. We finally arrived at a place called Military Secret. But this much, I can tell you, it was cold. And even before we had a chance to throw out, they had us in the school of the soldier. The sergeant gave it to us straight. You sleep in that bed, you make it. You wear them clothes, you wash them. You walk on that floor, you clean it. There's no service here. You understand that? And I bet right now, Mama, I can make a bed better than you can. But before I had a chance to get the bed warm, there I was. In the beginning, the new hands were all feet. Right? Hey! Oh, wait! K.P. Biverg's tent pitching, general orders, the tougher the day, the shorter the night. But you get used to it, and if you can't take it, they got doctors, some of the best in the country, specialists in every field. And in our dental clinic, we have a wedge. But even so, this is one kind of drilling no soldier likes. But after all the making beds and feeling potatoes and drilling and marching, they give you a rifle and teach you to shoot it. In no time at all, I could hit the broad side of a barn. It was fun. It's not all worth it. There's football, baseball, and oh yes, ping pong. If you want to read, there's a library. Can you imagine me listening to poetry? But it came in good. The very next day, I got a chance to use it. We were sent on a detail to a nearby camp. I saw some soldiering that was beautiful to behold. But anyway, I'll tell Uncle Everett to quit joking about the wax, because these girls have forgotten more about jeeps and trucks than he'll ever know. Copper or no copper. And the next day, at night, a real apple pie girl. Just the right size and everything. Just the time you like. But in the army, man proposes and G.I. disposes. And the next morning, I was out there like the rest of them. Getting tough. In this man's army, they want you to be tough. But tough. And I mean tough. And tough in the army means a good fighter who can stand up against a strong enemy and beat him to the draw. And after a hard week, a soldier welcomes a Sunday. This morning, I have a G.I. report. I think you'll all be interested in. This is an official statement from the War Department. In the present world war, there are more than five times as many men with high school education in our armed forces than were in World War I. This has meant an increase in officer candidates. Official figures tell us in the present war, there are three times as many colored officers as in World War I. From a score of different schools, many have earned their commissions at that place alongside those who come from any one of the hundreds of ROTC schools and the greatest of all military institutions, West Point. The next time you see me, I'll be wearing an officer's uniform ready to get in there and get this war over with. That's a promise. Your loving son, Robert. Thank you, Mrs. Bronson. That's a promise millions of Americans have made. Thousands have put it into action. In every camp, men are getting their final work out. At Tuskegee, more pilots are earning their wings. Short while, these young officers will be full-fledged combat flyers. Taking their place at the controls of our fighter planes when they fly. Tomorrow, what a surprise the Nazis will get from black, brown, yellow and white men all Americans land on the airfields of Berlin and Tokyo. In the far north, seasoned soldiers are toughening themselves. For they know that in a fight against all that is evil, truth must be ready. Ready to strike hard and often. Whether or temperature, any weather can be good weather. Any temperature can be right. When men know the meaning of their job and are determined to get it done, come what may. Entertainers, carpenters, bellboys, schoolteachers, farmers are today soldiers in a modern army. Tankmen, gunners, radio operators and motor mechanics. Every man has the meaning of teamwork. Every man qualifies to replace any of his teammates at any time. Every man ready to do his share. Fighting builders, ready to build bridges, highways, railroads, ports and landing fields. The quarter master who moves truth and supply who provides food, fuel and clothing. The man who supplied transportation, telegraph, telephone and radio. The cavalryman ready to patrol, scout, harass. Hits in decisive action and meshesmiths out of the skies. Feet hangs over the Axis partners as the allies liberate town after town. But the job isn't finished. This is only the beginning. To win the final victory over Germany our blows must be dealt harder and faster and with all our strength there can be no let up in the floor of supplies. More and more food equipment and ammunition must reach our troops in the battle area. Our troops must build them through the swamps of the south Pacific, the snows of the far north across the rivers of Europe. Build them in record time to Berlin and Tokyo. Even unto death the land of their burden. Soldiers who believed in this great country. To the enemy our country is something to destroy. Our homes our right to worship God our little belongings something to crush. We thank you for this land which our fathers have helped to build. Grant that we may with your help be worthy of this heritage and in our turn enrich it for our children. So that government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from this earth.