The year was 1941 and the world was at war. Though America had not yet entered the war “officially,” Americans were already dying – like the young sailor on the merchant ship Reuben James which was torpedoed by German submarines, soon immortalized in a ballad by Woody Guthrie.

Earlier in the year, President Roosevelt had spoken to Americans about the need to recognize “Four Freedoms” for everyone in the world: freedom of speech and religion, freedom from fear and want. There are still parts of the world where people lack these human rights, and there are parts of the world where Americans are still dying to bring these rights to others.

Eleanor Roosevelt’s comments in her newspaper column of that year, written 75 years ago for Thanksgiving, are still relevant today.  She mentions the missing of the Reuben James, and implores us to, “Work for peace. Do your part.”  The full column is shared below:

“There is so much for which we in the United States can be thankful. We should join together and say our prayers of thanks with very full hearts. As we look at the rest of the world, we may be thankful that we have been spared the sorrows and the hardships which have come to so many men, women and children. True, our own lives have been greatly changed and some people in this country have suffered losses, and are in deep sorrow because some young life has come to an end, either in service training or in actual service work. My heart ached the other day when I read one of my letters which begged me to find out for a broken-hearted father whether his boy was actually on the Reuben James and among the missing, because he had been on board but his name was not listed.Anxieties and grief there are for many people, and yet on the whole, we can be thankful that our countrymen are waking to their responsibilities, and are accepting whatever the government asks of them. We are producing more and more in the way of defense materials, as the people realize what the real impact of a Hitler victory would mean to us.  I like some lines which a friend of mine has sent me: Work for peace. Do your part. Crush that evil which is set up to destroy our culture and the bill of rights. Thank our forefathers for their stamina and their vision. Realize that we hold the torch of tolerance, for freedom and for peace. Do your part.”