“When we repeat the great pledge to our country and to our flag, it must be our deep conviction that we pledge as well our work, our will, and, if it be necessary, our very lives.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Just five months before the events of Pearl Harbor led the United States into war, President Franklin Roosevelt’s Independence Day speech hinted at what was inevitable. In his Fourth of July Declaration, the president stated, “The approach of Independence Day this year will kindle in all American hearts an appreciation of the dark days that preceded and followed July 4, 1776. Those were the times that tried men’s souls even as are these times in another crisis in American life.” In his July 4, 1941 radio broadcast he said, “We know too that we cannot save freedom in our own midst, in our own land, if all around us—our neighbor Nations—have lost their freedom. . . I tell the American people solemnly that the United States will never survive as a happy and fertile oasis of liberty surrounded by a cruel desert of dictatorship.” Five short months later, the country found itself intimately embroiled in the conflict.
Still, throughout the war, Americans both at home and abroad continued to celebrate the nation’s Independence Day, albeit it in a subdued and, at times, more solemn way. President Roosevelt urged Americans at home to celebrate “not with fireworks of make-believe” but with the “death-dealing realities of tanks and planes and guns and ships.” And homegrown celebrations were more somber. The customary fireworks display at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. was cancelled and the patriotic parade banned. Celebrations emphasized national unity and supporting the war effort.
Abroad, U.S. troops celebrated Independence Day in various ways. On July 4, 1944, the one millionth Allied troop landed in Normandy and 1,100 U.S. guns were fired in a Fourth of July salute at the German line in Normandy. Troops throughout the war held celebrations, often with special ceremonies. Where troops were stationed, local communities would hold celebrations like parades, picnics, and bonfires. Typically, troops would remember the sacrifices of those who had come before, from the American Revolution to the present conflict. Celebrations boosted morale and inspired those fighting for freedom far from family. While Independence Day celebrations looked different during the war, Americans continued to recognize the founding of their nation that was born in the cause of freedom. Visit the Wright Museum and experience our Time Tunnel and Home Front Gallery to learn more about America during the war and what life was like both at home and on the battlefield. And join us for our July Lecture Series as we hear from experts on topics including entertainment on the World War II battlefront and the unique roles women held in the global conflict.
