Tuesday, March 1, 2016

The Roosevelt Bible

In the February issue of the Smithsonian Magazine, there was a very good article about a veteran of World War II.   In this piece, the gentleman mentioned that he still had his Roosevelt Bible from his time in the Army.  I wonder how many reading that article knew what he meant by that? I wouldn't have known if not for my Dad!  This time last year when I was at my Dad's, I noticed a small Bible that was propped up on a shelf...taking it down, I realized that it was this same bible that had been issued to those in World War II.  (If my memory is correct, it consists of the New Testament and Psalms.)  His name was in the front of the Bible, but even though it said not to write the name down, he could do so since the war was over!  (My Dad was drafted just after the end of the war and sent to Berlin.  He was only 18 years old.)  And just like him, he mailed this small Bible to his little sister, Leona.  Sadly, Leona died in 1997 and her daughter and son, gave it back to my Dad.




The Harmony of the Four Gospels....I have heard many sermons that will mention that a certain story in the Bible will be mentioned in one gospel but not in any other one, or that a story is mentioned in all four gospels so I loved finding this chart called "The Harmony of the Four Gospels"!  This was in the Roosevelt Bible and I have never seen it before! Perhaps you will laugh at me and say that this is in a lot of Bibles, but I have never seen it before. 


Also, there are four verses of the "The Star Spangled Banner" in the Bible but you very rarely see the last one which was printed in this Bible...
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand Between their lov’d homes and the war’s desolation! Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n-rescued land Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!” And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!


Below is a photo of my Dad in his Army uniform.  Aunt Leona had this photo and she made copies of it for all his kids and framed it for each one of us.  If you remember me mentioning our night blooming cereus cactus, that was also a gift from Leona, which we have had since 1994 and is now over 6 feet tall.






20 comments:

  1. You father looks quite dapper in his uniform. It is nice that he still has his Roosevelt Bible.

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    1. I'm glad that the Bible was returned to him. Wish he had smiled in the photo, it would look more like him if he had done so!

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  2. A rather touching post, Kay, thank you!
    Two things I find a little puzzling:
    Why is it not the full Bible? Was it about weight and size for the soldiers to carry about, or was it the thought that there is quite a lot of bloodshed in the Old Testament, which maybe doesn't make the best reading material for a soldier at war.
    The star-spangled banner is in there, really?

    The comparison chart is very useful for serious Bible study! I've come across such charts many times, around 25 years ago, when I was more involved in that kind of activity.

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    1. The Bible is small enough to fit into your hand. I would think that the Old Testament would have made it way too large, not for any reason other than that.
      And there were also other patriotic songs in there too, I will have to have a look at it again when next I visit my Dad!
      I love the chart, The Harmony of the Gospels, besides the chart itself, I quite like the way it was named.

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  3. I bet the German girls loved him!

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    1. Yes, I expect that they did! I have written of my Dad in Berlin before, if you remember!

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  4. I do learn something new every day and thanks to you , today I've learned another new thing. I'd never heard of the Roosevelt Bible before. What a treasure that your Dad had his.

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    1. I would not have known of it until I saw it at my Dad's about this time last year. I am glad that it was returned to him.

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  5. I'd never heard of a Roosevelt Bible before, love your Dad's photo, what great keepsakes.
    My Dad was 4-F during WWII---bad eyes---then he got called up for the Korean War, but only served in the Reserves because he had 3 kids.

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    1. The Korean War...my mother's first husband was killed in that war. I remember the Purple Heart and the folded up American flag that she kept in the cedar chest, made me so sad to see it as a child.

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  6. What a fascinating post....We had more than one of these little Bibles in the house when I was growing up, but I am not sure if they were the Rooseveldt Bible....How handsome your father is in his uniform!

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    1. Thanks, and I was pleased to find this little bible at my Dad's and glad to point it out to him. (Not sure if he remembered where he had it!)
      And you know I agree that my Dad is handsome!!

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  7. There's something i doubt we will ever see again. Your father was (and still is in the recent photographs of him you've posted) a very handsome man!

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    1. I know, everything has to be so PC these days...
      Believe it or not, my Dad is even MORE handsome in person, he is such a lively soul, pictures don't do him justice!

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  8. Your dad really is one classy gent. I would say he lucked out by turning 18 after the war but at the time he was probably itching to fight even though he was underage and he'd have hardly been the first 17 year old to lie about their age and fight for their country. I didn't know Roosevelt issued bibles to men in uniform. That's a really great gesture.

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    1. It was hard on my Dad's family, he already had two older brothers in the war and when you are farmers, they were all very much needed at home. I also think that the Bible being given to the servicemen was a good idea.
      And I agree, he is one classy gentleman!

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  9. How lovely that you have that.

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    1. I was very pleased to see that he has it, and glad to show him where he had it on the shelf! :-)

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  10. A cherished possession, no doubt; and one that will remain the family forever...passed down from generation to generation. Wonderful. :)

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    1. I hope so. In my family, things tend to somehow go astray but I am hoping that this is one thing that will go in a special place!

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