November 28 Is an Important Date, Not Only for This Thanksgiving
As we know, this year Thanksgiving Day is on November 28. Since there has been a great deal in the news about Artificial Intelligence (AI), I decided to give it a try. I asked AI: What has happened in history on November 28th? Over a dozen responses pop up.
The one that was most significant to me was November 28, 1943. That date marked the beginning of the four-day Tehran Conference, a meeting between U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin in Tehran, Iran.
The leaders of the U.S., Great Britain and the Soviet Union coordinated military strategy against Germany and Japan and made important decisions on the next phases of the war against the Axis powers in Europe and Asia. They also had discussions concerning the post-World War II era.
When President Roosevelt signed the Congressional resolution on December 26, 1941, establishing the fourth Thursday in November as the Federal Thanksgiving Day Holiday, he could not have known that in two years he would be meeting with Churchill and Stalin. There he committed to Operation Overlord, the invasion of northern France, we know as D-Day on June 6, 1944.
Our parents were young, many of us were children and others of the current older generation not yet born when the Tehran Conference took place, and the decisions made there reshaped our world. In the 81 years since, the people of our nation, our leaders and our military have often endured troubled times. It is tragically ironic that after 81 years we and today’s allies worry about nuclear proliferation and that meetings in Tehran are still necessary. But America remains strong (maybe not as strong as we would like) despite the disruptive words and actions of politicians that have endeavored to divide us.
This Thanksgiving we can be thankful that the 2024 political campaigns are over. Let’s pray that the newly elected President and Vice President will lead our country in the right direction. Also include in our prayers that the men and women who wear the uniforms of our military, border patrol agents, peace officers and other first responders will be blessed for the duties they perform for Americans.
May you and your family and friends have good health for Thanksgiving, the holiday season and next year.
Bill Kadereit,
President National Retiree Legislative Network and
President and Chairman of the American Education Foundation
