Franklin D. Roosevelt Library & Museum
Collection: Grace Tully Archive; Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder= FDR Inscribed Speeches: Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
Collection: Grace Tully Archive
Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder = FDR Inscribed Speeches:
Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
HOLD FOR RELEt\SE
HOLD FOR BELEASE
HOLD FOR RELEASE
October 12 , 1942
rn
CAWION:
CONFIDENCE
The followir.g addreee of the Preaident MUST BE HXLD
~~ti l re l eased.
N<Yl'E:
Release to edi t i ona of all newspapers appearing on
the streete Nor EARLIER THAN 10:00 o'clock P .M., E .\;.T ., Monday ,
october 12 , 1942.
The same releese also appl ies to radio announcers and news oommentators .
CA.'!E
~rt.lST
BE EKERCISED TO PREVENT
~1ATURE
PlIDLICATION .
STEPml' EARLY
Secretary to the President
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As yeu know , I have reoently COM back froe a trip or
inspection of camps and training stations and war rsctories .
main thing that I observed on this t r i p ie not
exactly news .
It is the plain fec t that the Amerioan people are
un.1 ted as never before in t.~e ir determination to do a Job and to
do it well .
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Th i s whols nation of one hundred and thirty million froe
men and women and children i s becoming one great fishting force.
Some of us are eoldiers or sailors , SOllIe of us are civilians. Some
of us are fishting the war 1n atrplaneo. five miles above the cont inent of Europe or the islnnds of the Pacific -- and eoma of us
are fighting i t 1n mines deep down in the eartll of Pennsylvania or
Montana . A fow of us are docorated with medels for heroic achievo ment, but all of us can have that deep and permanont inner eatillfsc tion that COllldS f rom doing the beet we know 'how -- esch of us playing an honorable part in the great struag] e to save our democratic
civilization .
Collection: Grace Tully Archive; Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder= FDR Inscribed Speeches: Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
Whatever our individual circllIIlBtsnces or opportunities -we !U"Q all in it, and our spi r it is good, and we AlIlericanB and our
all1ee aro going to win -- and do not l et anyone tell you anytlling
different .
'1'hst is the main thing tilat r sa.w on l':!.Y trip around the
oountry -- unbsata.b l (l spirit .
If tho leadore of Germany and Japan
could have come along with 1II0, and had seen what I saw, tlley would
agree with IIJ<f conolusions.
Unfortunately, they were unable to
l:'l8ke the trip with me .
That is one roason why we a.l'6 carrying our
war effort ovor seas -- to them.
;,'i tll ever y pasSin(! weok the war increases in Bcope and
int enelty .
Thst is true 1n Europe, in Africa, in ASia, and on
all the se~s .
The strength of the United Nations is on tlle up -grade i n
t his war .
The kx1s leaders , on the otilor hand , Imow by now that
tlley havo -alrea.d,y reachad thoir full strength , and that tl:Jelr
st",ad1ly mounting 10ssos 1n !!lan and llIaterial oannot be fully ro placed.
Ge~ end Japan are already realizing what the inevitablo roeul t will be When the total str ength of the United Na.tiona
hits them -- at additional places on ths earth's surfaco .
Ono of the principal weapons of our onemios in the PBBt
has beon t heir use of what is callod "The War of lIerves".
They
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bave aprerui falsehood and terror; they he.ve started. Fifth Col=e
everywhe r e ; they have duped the innocent; they have f'l?ment ed
suspicion rund hate between neighbors ; they he.ve aided and abetted
thoee people in other nati ons -- even our own -- whoee words
and deads are adver t i sed frOIl! Berlin and Tokyo
fl.S
proof of d.is-
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unity .
Tbe great es t defense against all Buch propaganda 1s
the 00=00 sonse of the oo=on people -- and that dofcne9 is
prevailing .
T1::e "War of !'IQrvos" e.gainst the Unit ed Nati on s 1s now
t urning into a boomerang. For the first time , the Nazi l'roPO'l8anda
machino is on the defensive , They begin t o I!.pologizc to the i r own
peopl e for the repulso of their YOst forces at Stalingrad, and for
tho enormous onsual t l es thoy aro Bufferi ng . They aro compelled to
beg their oYOI"'Jorked poople to rally the i r weakened production .
They even publicly admit, for the first tilOO , that Gormany c:an
be fed only a.t the cost of stealing food from the rost of Europo .
They are proclaiminB that a scc:ond front is i1llPossiblo;
but, at the 13= t l l:1C , they al"e desperat ely rushing troops in
all dit'eet1ons , and ott'inging barbed wire all tlle way fro"," t ho
coasts of Finland 8."ld Norwe.y to tho islBndB of the Eastern
Modi terr8ll.oan .
Meanwhilo , they arc driven to increase the fury of thei r
a t r ocities.
The United Nations havo dccided to establish tlle identity
of t hose Nati l "aders who axe responsible for t ho inm=rable ac:ts
of savoger y . As each of tllese criminal deods is c:ownJttcd, i t is
b ei ng carefully investigated; a."ld the eVidence is being relent lessly
piled up for the future purposes of justice .
We have made it ent i rely clear that t he United Nati ons
seek no :wass reprioals 86ainst the populations of Gorma.ny or Italy
or Japan .
But the t' i ng l oaders and their brutal henchmen :mwt b e
named, and appr ehcndod, and t ried in accor~~ce With the judic:ial
processes of criminal law .
Collection: Grace Tully Archive; Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder= FDR Inscribed Speeches: Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
Thet'o !!.l'O now millions of All'.oricans in I!.l'IllY caz.ws , in
l'I.(l.val stations , in factorias and in shipyaxds .
Who axe those m.1111ons upon whom the life of ou:r country
depend s! What are thoy thinking? What a r e thei r doubts and what
are their hopes? And how is the wot'k progt'oooing?
Tho C~dcr~ in~Chicf C~"lot learn a ll of the answers
to t heso questions in WashiI1.8ton . That is why I !!'ade the t r ip I
did ,
I t is vory sasy to say , as some havo said, that when
ths President trave l s t hrough t he countr y he shcul d go ~~th n bl ars
of t rumpet s , with c r owds on ths sidewalks , ·.. i t h batterios of re ·
porters and photographet's ~~ t alking and posing wi th all the
politicians of t ho land.
But having ha d some e;,::por ionce i n this wax and in the
lest war, I cnn tell you very simply that ths ki nd of trip I
t ook pen:J1tted mo to concentrato on tilo work I ho.d. to do witil ~
ou t expondil".g tico , moetiI1.8 all tile do=dB of publicity . And
I migh t add •• i t was a partic: ulor pleasure to make a tour of the
c ou.r.try without having to giv~ a single t hough t to politics.
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I expect to make other trips fo r similar pcrposeo- ,
and I shal l mala: them in tho! sare,,, "'..y.
In the l"st war, I had seen gredt factories; but until
r saw SOme of the new present day pla nts , I had not thorouchly
vinualized our ;""'.erica."1 'iar effort.
Qf cour:;", I saw only a
small portion of all our I'btnt.oc, but t hat portion was a good
CroSS section , !lJ<d it waS
d~eply
im!'l",eSsive .
'!'no United States has been at war for only t~n tr.onths,
and is "I'CllCed in the enormous task of rr.ultiplyl!>t its armed
forces Irany tiL'CS .
',e are by no meanS at full pr o duction level
:.-et .
But I coulll not !1clp askinr, myself or. the trip, where
would we be today i f the Governrrent of the United ::>tates had not
be/i-un to build Irany of its factories for
thi~
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huge incr"ase more
thm two years "eo -- t:.o re thin a year before war was rorced upo'"
us at Pearl Iiarlx>r .
,je have also had to face the ;xonlcm of shippir.c . ShillS
in every part of the world ~on tinue w be sunk by ene",,, action.
But the total tonnage oj.' ~h.ips co ",inc out of Americ01l , Canadian
and Bri tish shipyards, dao' by day , hus incre a:;e d so fa~t that we
are eettinc ahead of our ene:'lies in tlle bittel' battle of trans portat ion .
in expandinc O\Z' shippinf" w. have had to enlist !:lany
thousands or ""n for our Wer chant '"arine .
Thesl'men tIre serving
magnificently .
They are riskin~: their lives every hour so that
guns "nd tanks an d pliines and J..'1'I.'.unition aac. food may be carried
to the heroic deEendcrs of ;;talingrad and to all the United
Nations ' forces allover the world .
A few days ago I awarded the fir s t Mariti>..e Disti!'l{;uished
Service lcedal to a YO\lnt: !:)an - Soward f. Cheney of Yeadon , Pennsylvania -- "<he had shevlll [r"at gal lantry.in rescuing his co,"r adcs
from the oily "aters of the sea citer the ir ship hact be~n torpedoed .
Ther« "ill be r:....n;r more such acts of bravery .
Collection: Grace Tully Archive; Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder= FDR Inscribed Speeches: Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
In or.e sense "'Y r ecent tri p ViaS:> r.urricd Oflll , eut
throufh the l;:iddle Io(~st , to the Northwest, cier.-:n t.he leq:th of tile
<'acHic Coast and back throuf7:1 t~ Southwest :>nd the South .
In
<lI1other sense , ~,O'·'ev(Jr , it was a leisurely trip , becruse I had the
opportunity to t ulk to the peopl.;; who are :>dual ly doing the wo r k I t gave
manuger.:ent and labor alike -- on th~ir evm h01:lC grounds .
r..e a fine ckmce t() do some t hinking about the major problema of our
7:ar effort on th" basis of first thine~ first .
As I told the three press ass'1cil.'.t io n nJpresentatives who
acc<zopllIlied ;!lB , I WaH il:1pl'Essed by too large proportio n of women
enploycd _ doing ~kil1"d nanual worl< nUlling r::J<lchin",s .
As tim",
goes on , and :r.any l".Or~ of our man er.t.~r the armed forc",s, this pr o_
portio n will increase.
;,ithin le~~ \hc.n u yew from now , there
will probably be 1'.5 ",any 'Nomen <IS men wori<:ine i n our war produ ction
pl ant 3.
I had some enliGhtening experien~cs r elating to the old
saying of ut, men Uwt c\lrio~ity _ inquisitiveness -- is stronger
alnong woreen .
I noticed that , freque.'ltly, v;h~n we drovc \lna nrwunced
down the middle of a great plant full of 'mrk<. rs and macllin!:s , the
firs t people t o look up from thdr work W!:N the men - - ;;nd not t.he
woltt!n .
It "as chieny ttJG ..>cn who Were argo.;.ing as to me t her th at
fellow in the straw.lo?t was re::.l ly the Prt.sident or not .
Havi n G seen the <11clity of the WQrl<: and of the 1.Q r kers on
our pr ociJ ction lines _ (lIld coupling th;se firsthand observatio ns
wi th th", r "'po:-b of actual pe!'forma:1c~ of our weapons on the figh t inE fronts - - I CO'..'1 say to yau t.'1Rt Wb
g,otting u.'lead of our
em;dcs in the battle of productio n.
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Of great importanc e to our fu ture production was the
effective M C Tapi d m.:mnc!, in '.• hich the Cong r~5 s r.et tha ser ious
problffil of t.he rising co3t of living .
It was a ~l'lendid exampl e
of the o!",,:c ation of d"mocratic prcceSS<l~ in ,·, 'artimL
The r.:achinery to carry out this <.let of the Cong re ss was
put into effe ct '.I ithin twel ve hours aiter the bill WCiS ,;;igr.ec .
The legislation ,;ill help the cost-o r-living problans of ove ry
worker in e ve ry fac tory and 0'1 evcrY"farm i :1 the lun:l. .
In orde r to ke",?
st~ppi!lf;- up OUT
producti on, we have
had to add nillians of .,.; ar kers to th e total laoor f OTCB of the
Nation .
Ami "-,, ne ... fact.ories 0000 into operat ion , we !:lust find
additionill ::;illions of
work e r~.
This presents a forrnicablc problem i n the mobilization
of manpower .
It is not thDt ,Ie do not have enough p'opl c in this
countlJ'to do th" ~ob .
Ihe =obh:n is to have the rieht nurrbers
of t h e right peopl(; in too rirht
pla c ~s
at the rif!ht t i ::ll- .
are le arni,..:; t o :cation materials ; end
learn to ration manpcn·ior .
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must now
The majcr ob j€ ctivos o f a sound t'.anpo',.-"r policy are :
First, to scllect and t rain ::kn of the hith{st fiehtine
... f ficie",cy needcd fo r cu :c a,..r;ed forcLls in the achic.vCIl";"nt of
victo:,y over o~r enemies i:1 cOF,bat.
Seccnd, to rr.an our ""'" ind us t,..ies and farms wi th tiH"';
',mrkers n ecc.<ld to produc,:, th" ar",s ,..:,d rr.unitioilll a"ct fooe! required by ourselves and OUr fighti"' t allies to win this "2..1' ..
I n a r ctoJr to co this , '""-' shall b" corr.p~ ll",d \D s top
''''orkt;rs fror; ~,oving fro", one Vlar job to anothtr as a I"latter of
per~onal p:refcrun cG; to stop (£lploycrs froi""'. s t (;<U.ine labor fro,,"
(;ach othe,..; to u~c old"r m<:n , am h,,,'lctic"ppcd poople , am mar e
won-.c n, and even 1(,"01'1:\ b:>y~ and gi,.. ls, "herev" r possible DJ"ld r"llsonable, to repIne" r."l0n oi" military arb =d fitn~ss ; to trai n
nO;;<I personnel for {;sst:ntial ",'ar ~.;ork ; <lnc to stop the w:;lstngc of
l abo r in ill.l non_ c~>l"nti1l1 activities .
arc r.lImy other things that w~ can uo ,
iMI;Ldiat0ly, to h"lp "'.c" t til.; manpower probl""'''
Collection: Grace Tully Archive; Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder= FDR Inscribed Speeches: Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
111(,1'0
~.nd
do
The school authorities i n all the: st;;t()~ should work
out pums to lCm;bl" our hi~ school stude::ts to tak e ~oC"." timl
froPoI t h"ir school YUT , and to ,",so t.""ir ~ =.cr vc:cations, to
h<:lp far"",rs r:ti.sc <md hJ.l"·ve:st their crops, or to l"iO,..k in the
·."ilr industries ,
1"1is C:ocs not mc?..n elo6inr s chools and stopping
('du c<.lti on .
It. does m...an givine old<::' studonts a b"tt~r opportunity to contri but!; to th <.; \"i1lr "Hart..
S""ch ·.·.D,.. k .. ill 00 no
h<>.rm to t.h L S t uG(mt s ,
Poo ple should do t hdr ,co rk c:S rK.ar t hG ir hones 2.S
possible ,
'0" C(l..'l not [.ffo rd to tnmsport a single work!:. r into
an 2.,..en Ylhi.lre th"T(; is already 11 .()rk~r i);v;;ili::bl" to do th(, job .
In ~OO".e co rmnunities, umployc, rs disl ike to "mploy worren .
In othe,..:; t nto' "-~ nluc tant to hire Nee-ro .;,; .
In still oth"rs,
older m<:n aJ'(i not wa.nt.;d.
,," CUI no longer n ffo rd to indu1 e @·
such pr-"ju<iic llS 0,.. p,..ncticcs ,
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- 5 Every citizen W1lZ1.ts to know what e ssential war wo rk
he can do the bes t. He can get the answer by applyin;: to t he
nearest United o,taws gmplOyJ~ent Service office . ',here are
four thousand five h\Uldred of these offices tnro\l ghou-t "the
Nation . They are the corne;" grocery stores of our =power
system. This network of ern;:>lop.e:lt offices is pn~pareo to
advise every citizen where his skills ..nd labors are needed
most, ana to refer him to an e".player Vlno can utilize ther.>
to best advantage in the war effort .
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Perhaps the most difficult pha"e of the manpower
problffn is the sca rcity of fan:: labor. I have seen many
evi<lerlces of uw fact, hOWeNer, that thE< people are trying
to meet it as well as possible.
In one conu,'Wlity that I visited a perisnable crop
was harvesu.,d by turning out th" whol" ot the high school
for three or fou r days.
In another cO!:'.mUflity of fru i {, gnro'i"rs til" usual
Ja;>a""se labor '"as not avallabl,,; but wh,,m the fruit ripened ,
t'>l" banker, the butcher, tile lawyer, the garage nan, th'"
cirug.::bt , ule local (;ditor , ar.d i:1 fac\.. every able-bodied
man ano woman in th'" to·,'Ill , left th"i r occupations ar", '·'"nt
out, gath~ reti V,,, fruit , ana ~"nt it to ]"arket. .
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levcry farmer in the h.m! must realizb fully that. his
production is PRrt of .,ar ;:orocHlction, anu that h~ is r"i'.ara~ci
by til" N,.tion "s essential to victory. f h" AmHiciln p~ople
exp"ct him to k"~p his proauction up, ana bV<.ll t<J iner~as"
it . ':(e will use eVd), ,.fiort 1.0 h"l) hiIIl to ,;<.t labor ; but,
at. th~ S;i,iaG time, he ano t..'1" p"opl<. of his cOI!ll~unity tlust. us"
in;:;enuity illId cooperativG ,,1fort to proeuc,> crops , and
liVLswck ""d dairy prOOu ets .
It !'lay be that all of our volunt"Lr Lffort - - howllv<.r
well int.Lntion vd ana ...,<:11 3,Woini.st.crvd -- will >lot suffioo
to solvco :.h .. ;:>roblem. In " hat. casL, w... shall hav" to adopt
ne\llLgi~lc..tion .
If this is n",cc;ssar:r, I ao not bdi"V0 thdt
the AnuicU!' ;)(o()"l" ;<ill shrink f rom it.
I n a scns", Oov<erJ Am<>riCi.ln , b<-c:.ous" of trt", privileg"
of hi" citizenship, is a ,lCtrt of t.h~ Sde-c "ivc' Service.
ThG lbtion O'lIo.;S J. aebt of gratitud"
to tilL Sd"ctiv"
Collection: Grace Tully Archive; Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder= FDR Inscribed Speeches: Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
S~rvic"
BOl<rd" . Th" "ucccssful O?<oration of til<o :"~h.ctiv"
S"rvic<o syskm ana ti'i. way it h&s b~0n «c c"p1.. o.:d by th., gr"at
"'[iSS 01 our citiz~ns siv<c us confid<..ncl: th"t if .'k CL$Sary ,
tilL Satle principll. eoulo: b<J USed to sol"" any r."-"ljJO"oYLr probltr, .
Anu I want 1ilso to seq a ;lord of ;>r'-.is" <..nu t.hanks for
1), ,, IOOr(o than ,,0n ];lillion ;>0.;0;>1 <. , &.11 O'J"r t.,~ country, who
hav.:; volunt"o.;r"d for 1..'1. ... work of civili"n ad\.nSL -- una who
3roc ;;orkin!; h",rd a" it. Tnle, ure displayin5 W1.s"lfish a .. votion
in thL patiU1.t p"rforJc;...nc~ of th~ir oft"n tin,som" ;,nd dol;; u.ys
anonymous tasks . In OOin.; this impo rtant nLi ghborly ,wrk
th"y ",r<c hd;>in.; to fortify our !l.i..ticn1il wli ty ...nd our r"al
u.'la <orst<ln()in~ of th" fact thi.l t w... art all involv ... d in this
W[ir .
llLiturally , on my t.rip I ... ,-,s most int ... r"skd in \latching
th" training of our fighting forcLs .
All of our combat units th&t go ov",rs(;as must consist
of youn b , strong ncll who hc..vo,) h4d thorough tr:lini n,; . A division
th[it h"s o.n :lv"rag ... "r:e of tw"nllf-thr<.-" or tw"nty-four is 3
b"ttc.r fighting unit than on., which hus Jll <;.wr.J.i:L ag" of
tilirty-thru; or thirty-four . Th" tlor" of ,,"eo'!. troops w" n:.v"
in til" fh.ld , th'_ soon"r tho,) war will be. won , ii!ld thL smallir
will bOo. the cost in ca:rualties .
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Therefore, I believe that it will be
nece3sa~
to lower
the pres"nt Illillimum age limit for SeleC'"ive Se rvi ce from twenty
years down to ci8hteen . \~e have l"arneci how lnevit..lblc that
is -- and how imjlOrtant to t.'le speeding u? of victory .
I cun vcry thorou(;hly underst.and t:111 feel1n~ of ,,11
parents who~e sons )",v e entcNo our al"!:!<lu forces . r have an
appreciation or that feelinG -- and So lIas toy wife .
I wan t evwry [ath,,,· and ev",ry r.lother ... no has a $On in
t.re service to 'kIlow -- again , [ron ...·tllt I have :leon ~ith my
OIm eyes _-- that. the ilion i n Ute Amy . ~javy and ;.!ari.rn; Co~
are receiving tDday the best pos:;dol" t.rainin~ , eqllipnmt
iIlIC medical care. kId .... " Will nc~r r<iil to ;n'Ovidc for t.'l ..
spiritual ne"ds of our offie!:r:; a."lQ 0::(;" W1der thu Cha:Jlains
o!' our an:led ser'.. iccs .
Good t,rainino:: will sav" r..a."y, ".lafly l'iv~,s in battJ.e .
The highest raUl of CilSUillULs i s r.l"r,-ays suffc r.,;d by WIl t s
comprised of iI1 adcquat.<. ly tT\lin cd ;:-",:1 .
WIC can be SU~ that
th" combat uni ts of our Amy una
Navy "rtl wo.:ll 1,.a:miJu, hnc ':1.,;11 "quip?",";, am! ",,11 traln~d .
Th<..ir Lffcc tiV Ul"SS in Ioction wil l d".:>>lHl. upOn th" GJ a.li\.y
of their leadership, and Ilpon ~h" ... is<>o'" of th" str ... t"Gic
pla.'1s on "hich all milit.ary o~ratl.ons ar~ bast.a .
I c...n say om. t..1in6 a.bout ou r plans : 'fh(;y n r c not
b"i!'lg dc ciocd by th" typl.. ..u"i t"r stratq;ist.s l,nO 4lXj>OWld thdr
vi s,.-s in I."", prtlss o r or. UIL ra<li.o .
On .. of Uw g:"<.la~t.st o f ,u::"rican soldil:ws , Rob ... rt E .
once r"oark"d on UH. tralic fact tha:-. in ttl" w&.r of his Q&y
<011 !.hl> best. gcr."rals ""L"ru appa",n !.ly werkin..; on nt.Vlsp:.purs
inst.t;ad 01' in tho Amy . '!'hat S<..Lms to b<:o t.nl<; 1n a.ll war~ "
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Th." troubl .. '111.h thu typ,-wr i :-.t:r s trat"gi~ts is th .. t ,
wh1.1<; th"y m;>y be fUll of brl(>ht ideas , th(.y art. not in
po~s<-ssion of mucn in f err.mti on a bout th .. facts or probl<.;l:ls
of I:l.iEtary
operat10n~ .
Collection: Grace Tully Archive; Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder= FDR Inscribed Speeches: Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
W... , t.ht:l"tfor" , will conti nu" to loc.ve th,- plum; for
t..'1is ?rar to th" 1l111t:lry l..,adcrs .
The militi..1jI ..nd ndV:ll pl:!ns of tht: United StatU a r ...
mad .. by th" Joint 5t...:lff of the Ar.::y ':<''1:..0 .. ::;vy wi:ich is con~t<lIltly
in 5 ..ssien in.i'-' ~hillr,tor"l . Tht. Chid~ of this ~Uiff ar" Ad:niral
L ... llhy , G<onera.l :Iaruhall , Acll,lil'al Kine ~d G",n.;:r.u Arnold . l'h<;y
m""t and conhr rugubrly I'lith n'pr "",-nWti'I<.s ef th" Briti sh
Joint Su..ff , <.Ild wit.'l rupr"s,-nt:!tiv,-s 01" i~s"ia , China , tht:
N.dilcl'l,j,."l.ds , PoL.. nd , Nol"W«y , th" Brit.ish Domin io ns and other
nations wor:"ine in t.1(1 CO"Jr.on ca.us~' .
Sinc .. this unity of operations was pu t into .. ff"ct
las t Janui..l"Y , tll,- r ", h ... s h ... vn ::. v...r:; st:bs tanti"l '"'1lI'CCI:iUl t ~"tw ...-..n
th"s .. pl:m."l<-rs, all of '. ,nom (on- lrai" ... d in thL prof<.;ssLon of
amls - - air , ""a and 11.tld -- fro:n t..'luir ""rly y" .. rs . ;..s
COIIll:'.a.nder- in-Chi ... f I hav!. a:-. all tilr.'-'S also b""n in !illbst..:.ntial
agr<:c.m"nt ,
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As I hay" $aid bt.l'er" , = y "'''jor d"cisi<m$ of strat"gy
hay!; b!;~n :::adc . On .. of th"ln -- 0" whi~h ;;'- hav.:: all ag", ... d
r ... ll.lt,-s to th<.. n~c'-"sity of Qiv ... rtin" IOn"",), forc "" from
Ru ssi" iJ.lld China to oth", thca tr ~s of .Iur by nb ',l off,,:ls1.v,-,s
I.lg;,.ins t G~rmc.n)l ..nd J.:.p:\n . An <.!..'l'lOUnC!!lOU"lt of ho"N t..'tese
off"nsi vbs "r~ to b" l"unchu<.i , a nd whtn , and ,~n,r<... c1.tlnot
bt broadc<).st ov"r t il ... r .. dio "t this t.i.'llC .
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We colebrate today the exp l oit of a bold ~ adventurous Italian -. Christopher ColUl:!bUl.l -- who with t!w aid of Spain
oponod up R new world whoro rroo~ and tol erance and respect
for h~ rights and dignity provided a.~ asylum for the oppressed
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of tho ol d world ,
Today , th(l sons of the nO\l "arld are f'ight1.ng 1n le.nde
far dis t ant frOll! tho!);' own AIIlet-ica . Thoy are fishting t o save for
all lllflnklnd, including ourselves, tho prlnclpleo which have
flourished 1n this now worl d of freedOlll .
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,"'c are l':l1nciful of the countless millions of poopl0 " hoElo
future liberty and " hose v ary 111;'06 depend upo."l permanent victory
for t he United Nat i ons .
Thero arc a fo", peopl e in this oou...,try ·...ho , whon tin'
oollapso of the Axis begins , will tell our people that we artl safe
once more; thnt \Ie can toll the rost of tho vorl d t o "at e ... in its
own Juice"; t hat nover again w111 '0/0 help to pull "the other
feHo·.·' e chestnuts from the fire"; that the future of civilization
can jolly lIell t ake care of" lteeli' insofar as v e are concornod .
But i t is useleos to vin battlos if" the cause for which
II(l fousht these battlelJ i s lost .
I t is usel ess to win a liar Wllesa
it stays lion .
We , thereforo, f"i~~t for the rostoratio.~ and pcrpetuation
of faith and hope throushout tho lIor ld .
Tho objectivo of t oday is clear and realistic . It is to
destroy completely the military pOllcr of Germany, Italy and Jap1lIl
t o auch good purp096 that their thr eat againo t us and all the
othor Uni t od Nat ions cannot be revived a gener ation honco .
Collection: Grace Tully Archive; Series: Grace Tully Papers
Box 6; Folder= FDR Inscribed Speeches: Fireside Chat on the Home Front, October 12, 1942
We ero ul"litod in Beoldng the kind of vic t or y that vill
guarar.tce that our grandchildren CM gl:'OIl and, under God , ray
live their l ives , free fr~ tho constant threat of lnvasi~~ ,
destruction , slav ery and Violent deat.~ .
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