On this day in history, January 26th, 1942, the first U.S. troops landed in Belfast, North Ireland to assist the Allies. [1]
American troop support of the Allies (the U.K., France & U.S.S.R.), even months prior, seemed dubious.
However, it was the Japanese attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941, that provided the momentus call to duty of American G.I.s. Japan’s alliance with Germany and Italy (the Axis Powers) prompted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to ask Congress on December 11th, 1941, to declare war against Germany and Italy as well. [2] The war declaration was swiftly signed with unanimous support in both houses of Congress. [3]
Although American troops did not enter the European Theater of WWII prior to 1942; America had broken its official neutral stance to help prior to December 1941 as Nazi Germany aggressively advanced throughout Europe.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill from Great Britain pleaded with FDR for American support as the Nazis attacked Great Britain by air in 1940. Out of both personal compassion and American national interest, FDR advocated to Americans to support the UK through the supply of armaments, the lending of money, and with the assistance to transport naval supplies. [4]
FDR worked around congressional opposition by appealing directly to the American people using his famous fireside [radio] chats. Instead of arguing through the complexity of foreign affairs, he used the parable of two neighbors. In a March 1940 radio broadcast, he used the analogy of a neighbor’s house catching on fire, and posed the question to the American public: ‘Wouldn’t you lend them a garden hose’? [5] His common-sense appeal was memorable, comprehensible, and effective. As a result, FDR had garnered American popular support shifted towards helping the U.K., their de facto ally and “neighbor.”
By the time the first G.I.s landed in January, 1942, Americans were well-received. [7]
FDR’s effective use of a parable points to the greatest communicator, who frequently used parables to the greatest effect – the Lord Jesus.
There are 38 parables in the Gospels. In each one, Jesus told a parable to relate ethereal, spiritual, and abstract truths so that the audience could clearly understand the truths of God, His Kingdom, and how to live in faith.
What on the outset look like innocent stories of a farmer spreading seed (Mat. 13), or a rebellious son (Lu. 15) or a compassionate man on the road (Lu. 10) contain profound truth. Thousands of years later, these parables continue to reveal the Father’s love, convict of sin, and communicate how to live in faith.
Whereas FDR’s parable helped win support of helping an ally in WWII; Jesus’ parables reveal how to live out faith in the Risen Son who ended the greatest war against sin, death and the enemy. Read a Gospel parable today, thank God for it, and live out His intended response.
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Footnotes:
- https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/January-26
- https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-11-1941-message-congress-requesting-war-declarations
- https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/index.html?dod-date=1211
- https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/lend-lease-act-1
- http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/odlendls.html
- https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/lend-lease-act-1
- https://wartimeni.com/forces-in-northern-ireland/united-states-army/