WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is opposing
legislation that would add President Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day
prayer to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.

At a House hearing Thursday, Robert Abbey, director of the
Bureau of Land Management, said a plaque or inscription of the
prayer that Roosevelt read on a radio broadcast to the nation on
June 6, 1944, would "dilute" the memorial's central message.

As U.S and allied troops launched the invasion that led to the
defeat of Nazi Germany, FDR asked the nation to join him in prayer.
He then asked God to give the allied troops courage and faith,
saying, "With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces
of our enemy."

A World War II veteran, 87-year-old George "Poppy" Fowler,
told a House committee that the prayer should be added to the
memorial. He said, "This prayer came at a perilous time, yet it
was answered in victory at a dear cost of lives."

The legislation calls for the plaque or inscription to be paid
for with private donations.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-11-03-11 2216EDT