Michael Morgan| Special to The Daily Times
At 7:45 a. m., the bell of All Saints’ Episcopal Church at Rehoboth Beach rang to announce the first of its new schedule of daily services for the summer season. At the entrance to the church on Olive Street, rector the Rev. Nelson W. Rightmyer greeted worshipers.
Rev. Rightmyer was also rector of St. Peter’s in Lewes; and during the summer, he did double duty as the rector of All Saints. In addition, he was the chairmen of the Lewes branch of the Red Cross, and he was known as “The little padre with a big heart.”
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Church bells spread the news about D-Day invasion in Delaware
As Rev. Rightmyer was welcoming worshipers to All Saints, other churches that had no morning services scheduled began to ring their bells announcing that the long-awaited D-Day invasion had begun.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 that thrust the United States into World War II, residents of coastal Delaware found themselves on the front lines. Enemy submarines prowled the waters off the Delmarva coast, and scores of survivors from U-boat attacks landed at Lewes.
By 1944, the submarine attacks had diminished, but blackout regulations, rationing of food and other vital supplies, the presence of over two thousand soldiers at Fort Miles, air raid drills, the huge searchlights that lit up the sky and ocean, and newspaper articles listing the deaths of coastal residents reminded Lewes, Rehoboth and Bethany beach residents that the United States was at war. After two and half years of hard-fought conflict, coastal residents longed for some sign that the tide of war was turning.
On June 6, 1944, when the news of the invasion of Normandy spread, churches tolled their bells, and the Delaware Coast News reported those “who had already turned on their radios for early news broadcasts or to get radio times to start their day’s work, were aware of the significance of the bell ringing.”
The Delaware Coast News also commented, “Resort activities were noticeably slowed up during the day as people gathered to discuss the news with solemn countenances. From practically every home radios were heard blasting the news, with periodic interruptions on regular programs. Many kept their radio set on throughout the day.”
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Somber crowd gathered in Rehoboth to hear Roosevelt speech
In the evening at the Auditorium Theatre at Lewes, which normally had two showings a night, the second show was delayed so that the Rev. Rightmer could deliver a prayer. This was followed by a short film of the National Anthem, with the audience joining in singing the words to the Star Spangled Banner.
At the same time, the Blue Hen Theatre in Rehoboth was packed as patrons awaited President Franklin Roosevelt’s nationwide address on the D-Day invasion. In anticipation of the president’s comments, the ever-ingenious manager of the Rehoboth theater, Charles S. Horn Jr., rigged the radio broadcast into the theater’s sound system. The president’s words, in the form of a prayer, came through clearly, and the audience at the Blue Hen rose, bowed their heads and, reverently, silently, stood during Roosevelt’s remarks, “Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.”
After six and a half minutes, Roosevelt closed, “Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace. a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.”
With the success of the D-Day invasion, the war against Hitler’s Nazi Germany had turned. Just under a year later, on May 8, 1945, the conflict in Europe ended, and the coastal church bells rang for a half-hour in a joyous celebration.
Principal sources
Delaware Coast News, June 9, 1944; ay 11, 1945.
The American Presidency Project, “Prayer on D-Day.
Prayer on D-Day | The American Presidency Project (ucsb.edu)
