Ashland's Millers help dedicate FDR's D-Day Prayer addition to the WWII Memorial

Zach Tuggle, Ashland Times Gazette
·2 min read
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A couple well-known to Ashland residents took the stage in Washington, D.C. last week to help dedicate an addition to a national monument.

Melanie Miller, recently elected as the representative for the 67th Ohio House District, and her husband, Matt, the mayor of Ashland, traveled to the nation's capital for the ceremony, which was held on Veterans Day.

Matt and Melanie Miller greet a World War II veteran at a Veterans Day ceremony celebrating the D-Day Prayer addition to the World War II Memorial. A new monument is under construction at the site that will feature the prayer President Franklin D. Roosevelt recited for the soldiers on their D-Day landing. Melanie Miller was invited to sing at the celebration and her husband was invited to offer a benediction.

"Melanie was invited to sing the national anthem and "God Bless America," and I was invited to offer a prayer at the end of the ceremony," Matt Miller said.

The couple had been invited by Chris Long, their longtime friend.

The D-Day Prayer

"He is the president of the Ohio Christian alliance, and a leader at the Christian Alliance of America," Matt Miller said.

The addition is named The D-Day Prayer, and it commemorates words that had been spoken by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt before troops landed on the beaches of Normandy.

"It is the prayer that President Roosevelt prayed for our American soldiers on June 6, 1944," Matt Miller said.

Matt and Melanie Miller pose with a group of WWII re-enactors, Crew 1944, Chris Long, president of the Ohio Christian Alliance and U.S Congressman Bill Johnson who was the featured speaker at the Veterans Day D-Day Prayer addition celebration at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Matt and Melanie Miller pose with a group of WWII re-enactors, Crew 1944, Chris Long, president of the Ohio Christian Alliance and U.S Congressman Bill Johnson who was the featured speaker at the Veterans Day D-Day Prayer addition celebration at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

According to the website for the Friends of the National WWII Memorial, the new addition is "a free-standing element within a restored Circle of Remembrance with the bronze plaque held by granite piers, providing material continuity and lighter feeling."

The National WWII Monument stands between the Lincoln and Washington monuments.

Ashland's mayor said Long, an Ohioan, was instrumental in the addition's creation.

'A pretty powerful experience'

"He is the one who came up with this idea and worked with Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman to introduce the legislation to have this installed," Matt Miller said.

Ashland Mayor Matt Miller talks with WWII re-enactors in Washington, D.C.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller talks with WWII re-enactors in Washington, D.C.

That legislation passed, and was signed by President Barack Obama on June 13, 2014.

Although the ceremony on Veterans Day was a little rainy, more than 200 people were in attendance. There were even several reenactors dressed in WWII attire depicting military officers and soldiers.

Matt and Melanie Miller at the D-Day Prayer ceremony in Washington, D.C. Submitted photo
Matt and Melanie Miller at the D-Day Prayer ceremony in Washington, D.C. Submitted photo

"It was incredible," the mayor said. "There you were at the WWII Memorial on Veterans Day, and Abraham Lincoln's monument is behind you, George Washington's monument is ahead of you. And you're surrounded by young men in WWII uniforms standing in groups around you. It was a pretty powerful experience."

Matt and Melanie Miller greet a World War II veteran in Washington, D.C. The Millers helped dedicate the D-Day Prayer addition to the WWII Memorial on Veterans Day.
Matt and Melanie Miller greet a World War II veteran in Washington, D.C. The Millers helped dedicate the D-Day Prayer addition to the WWII Memorial on Veterans Day.

ztuggle@gannett.com

419-564-3508

Twitter: @zachtuggle

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Millers help unveil FDR's D-Day Prayer addition to the WWII Memorial