FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL INC

The D-Day Prayer will be a free-standing element within the restored Circle of Remembrance with the bronze plaque held by granite piers, providing material continuity and lighter feeling.

Friends anticipates a June 6, 2022 dedication of the FDR D-Day Prayer Plaque addition.

This will be an important and meaningful addition to the Memorial, which is visited by more than 5 million people each year, providing a contemplative space to reflect on and to remember the more than 400,000 American souls lost during World War II.

A $2 million grant by Lilly Endowment Inc. will allow Friends to complete this effort, begun I 2015, to add President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer to the World War II Memorial, restore the “Circle of Remembrance” – the area where the prayer will be placed, and to develop interpretative programming.

This effort will complete the World War II Memorial, and the additional programming – both onsite and online – will explore the stories of the everyday

Friends of the National World War II Memorial presents a Monthly Virtual Education Conference Series to learn more about the spirit of unity and shared purpose that defined the character of our country during World War II. The series features monthly one-day virtual conferences, from October through March, featuring discussions with WWII veterans, war orphans, and published authors. The series is free and open to the public.

The Friends of the National World War II Memorial has the lead responsibility in planning, staging, and funding six or more major national commemorative events annually, including on V-E Day, Memorial Day, D-Day, V-J Day, Veterans Day, and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

These special ceremonies are attended by World War II veterans, war orphans, members of the military and government, and other special guests.

The events are free and open to the public.

The Friends of the National World War II Memorial facilitates community service projects across the country, bringing the spirit of unity and shared purpose, which defined the character of our country during the war years, to our current and future generations.

At the heart of the Friends’ educational programming is the concept of community service.

As a condition of participating in Friends’ annual summer teachers conference, each participant is expected to work with their students, school, and community to fulfill a community service project. The result is countless service-learning initiatives popping up across the nation that promote critical thinking and personal reflection while encouraging a heightened sense of community, civic engagement, and personal responsibility.