The United States entry into what would become the deadliest conflict in human history began on December 8, 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the previous day. Just days after the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 bringing a close to the Second World War.
It is estimated that between 70-85 million people from over 70 countries perished in the global war. The war devastated American families with the staggering loss 407,316 American servicemen, an average loss of over two thousand every single week. Beyond the immense loss of life, another 671,278 individuals suffered wounds.
In the small rural Northeast McHenry County, 183 service members with ties to the area made the ultimate sacrifice in the conflict. In the nearly four years that the United States fought in the war, McHenry County felt the war’s heartbreak in every corner; no community, be it town, city, village, or township, escaped the tragedy of mourning its fallen sons.
The departure of American soldiers for war left those on the home front with a stark duty: to live lives worthy of the sacrifice being made abroad. This duty was ingrained in an anonymous poem titled “Wartime Prayer”, which First Lady Elanor Roosevelt carried with her throughout the war and is said that a copy was found in her wallet at the time of her death. The intent of the prayer was to commemorate the fallen and inspire the living to embrace a life of purpose and gratitude.
“Wartime Prayer”
Dear Lord,
Lest I continue
My complacent way,
Help me to remember that somewhere,
Somehow out there,
A man died for me today.
As long as there be war,
I then must
Ask and answer,
Am I worth dying for?