CHAPTER 279
STATE OF DELAWARE
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
PROCLAMATION
Anxious and unhappy, yet determined and united, we of America find the last Thursday of November near at hand again.
Each hour brings news of distant battles. Thoughts of those who fight them or who prepare with feverish haste, fill each pulsing moment for us all.
If the sacrifices seem too great, the restrictions too heavy a burden, and we doubt our cause for thanks, let us remember:
That the centuries have molded us into a great nation, strong in resources, in lands and in courage;
That the steadfastness of others has given us time to forge our weapons out of the tumult of industry and the labor of many hands ;
That no devastation has rained out of the sky above us to lay our shops and homes in waste;
That freedom remains--freedom to live and speak and worship as we choose--freedom to elect our own leaders, and be governed by laws of our own making--freedom to contend by the side of allies in the cause of humanity and brotherhood and against the forces of plunder and enslavement.
Nor can we forget the bulging granaries that insure us against the fear of want and help to banish the specter of starvation that stalks in many lands abroad.
With our people resolved that liberty shall not perish, and that men now slaves shall once again be free, with the knowledge that history has given to but few generations the privilege of fighting in so great a cause, surely we can know that a kindly
Providence has bestowed upon us, blessings so overflowing that they cannot well be measured, and gifts so great they cannot be appraised.
In a spirit of humble gratitude, Therefore, I, Walter W. Bacon, Governor of the State of Delaware, do designate and proclaim
THURSDAY
THE TWENTY-SIXTH DAY OF NOVEMBER
NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FORTY-TWO
as a day of
THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER
On that day whatever our anxieties may be, and no matter what has been the measure of our experience during the year that nears its close, let us join with countless tongues and voices in fervent prayer to Our Almighty Father, for the safety of our kinsmen everywhere who bear the brunt of the struggle, for our own fidelity through all the stress and strain we may be called upon to pass, and for the final triumph of the spirit of good will over an evil and brutal force.
Let us rejoice that we are privileged to live in America. And as a token of our faith let our Country's Flag be displayed throughout all of this Thanksgiving Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the said State to be hereunto affixed, at Dover, this seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thou-
(GREAT SEAL) sand nine hundred and forty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the one hundred and sixty-seventh.
WALTER W. BACON EARLE D. WILLEY, Secretary of State.