“Let Us Not Forget”: Edison’s Message To The American People
- Dillion Liskai
- May 26
- 4 min read
“Let us not forget.” Those four words can take on a myriad of different meanings. We use that phrase or similar wordings of that phrase daily. “Let’s not forget to lock the door on our way out”. “Let’s not forget to turn in that big assignment”. “Let’s not forget to set our alarm clock before bed”. We use those four words from the moment we wake up to when our head hits the pillow, and those four words guide our routines without us even realizing it. Those four words take on an entirely different meaning on the last Monday of May each year.
On Memorial Day, we pause to remember the American men and women who have laid down their lives so that you and I may live ours. In Milan and the surrounding areas, countless brave Americans, including Petty Officer 3rd Class Maxton Soviak of Berlin Heights and Firefighter John Saunders of Greenwich, have answered that call with unwavering courage and selflessness. Their names and thousands of courageous men and women are not just etched in stone or printed in memorial programs. They are carried in the hearts of the communities they served, and in the freedoms we too often take for granted. Memorial Day is not simply a moment of silence or a flag flown at half-staff. Still, it is a sacred obligation to ensure that their stories are told, their sacrifices honored, and their legacy preserved for future generations.
In 1918, Thomas Edison, a man certainly not known for delivering speeches or even talking in public for that matter, decided to preserve the legacy of not just the American soldiers who had lost their lives in World War I, but all Allied soldiers in World War I who had died by delivering an extremely rare speech. World War I had been personal for Mr. Edison, as not only was he the United States Naval Consulting Board Chairman, but his son, William, was also a sergeant who served in France. His speech entitled “Let Us Not Forget: A Message To The American People” was the only recording of Thomas Edison’s voice ever to make it into the record catalog, and it was recorded on both cylinders and discs. Inside the Don Gfell Education Center, we are lucky to have one of those disc recordings of Edison’s speech.
Although his message to the American people was just shy of two minutes long, it was powerful. You can listen to a recording of that speech from the Library of Congress below. The following is a transcription of that message, with the italicized portion of the text being the voice of Thomas Edison:
“Thomas A. Edison, the phonograph inventor, has never before permitted his voice to be recorded for the public. Today, however, he has a message for you that is important enough to cause him to break his long-established rule. Mr. Edison will now give you that message. I beg to introduce Mr. Thomas A. Edison:
This is Edison speaking. Our boys made good in France; the word 'American' has a new meaning in Europe. Our soldiers have made it mean courage, generosity, self-restraint, and modesty. We are proud of the North Americans who risked their lives for the liberty of the world. But we must not forget, and we must not permit demagogues to belittle the part played by our gallant allies. Their casualty list tells the story. However proud we may be of our own achievements, let us remember always that the war could not have been won if the Belgians, the British, the French, and the Italians had not fought like bulldogs in the face of overwhelming odds. The Great War will live vividly in the minds of Americans for the next hundred years. I hope that when we do reverence to the memory of our brave boys who fell in France, we shall not forget their brothers in arms who wore the uniform of our allies. I believe that the national airs of France, Great Britain, Italy, and Belgium should, for all time to come, be as familiar to us as our own Star Spangled Banner.”
Like Edison, may we, on this Memorial Day, not forget and never forget those who have given their all to protect our country and our communities.
Sources Used and Encouraged for Further Reading
Edison, Thomas A. 1918. “Let us not forget--a message to the American people.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694069/
Rutgers University-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences' Thomas A. Edison Papers. n.d. “The Edison Family and WWI.” Thomas A. Edison Papers. Accessed May 21, 2025. https://edison.rutgers.edu/life-of-edison/biographical-essays/wwi/the-edison-family-and-wwi
Dillon Liskai, a native of Clyde, Ohio, is a Bowling Green State University junior. He is pursuing a degree in Adolescent to Young Adult (AYA) Integrated Social Studies Education, specializing in History.
Dillon has been a Thomas A. Edison Birthplace Museum tour guide for the past three years. When not at school or the museum, he enjoys cheering on the Bowling Green Falcons, spending time with friends and family, and exploring local history.
Have a question for Dillon? Reach out via email at dliskai@tomedison.org!
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