On Nov. 28, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the government closed in a proclamation stating: “It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens… to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”
Chaplain (Capt.) Emmanuel Enoh, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Catholic chaplain, recited these words by the former president to kick off the Thanksgiving interfaith service at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, Nov. 22, 2017.