This is the famous Patton prayer card issued to all members of the Third Army, to which Goetz’s unit was attached, beginning on December 12, 1944. The prayer and Christmas greeting were composed by the chaplain of the Third Army, James H. O’Neill, at the request of General George Patton, who believed that prayer could provide his troops with relief from the long period of rainy weather that had slowed the army’s movement throughout the fall of 1944. Patton ordered O’Neill to print 250,000 copies of the prayer card. He also ordered him to send out a training letter to all the chaplains in the Third Army instructing them to preach the importance of prayer to their troops.
On December 23rd, the rain stopped and the cloud cover broke, allowing for the parachute airdrop of much needed supplies to the besieged troops of the 101st Airborne division in Bastogne, and for the resumption of air attacks on German troops. Three days later, the advance units of Patton’s army arrived in Bastogne, marking a pivotal moment in the Battle of the Bulge. According to James O’Neill’s recollection of events, Patton later remarked: “Well Padre, our prayers worked. I knew they would.” James H. O’Neill, “The True Story of the Patton Prayer,” Review of the News, 6 October 1971, www.pattonhqu.com/prayer.