[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 26, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 21913-21914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-10248]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 26, 1994]
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Part XIV
The President
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Proclamation 6677--
Announcing the Death of Richard Milhous Nixon
Executive Order 12910--Providing for the Closing of Government
Departments and Agencies on April 27, 1994
Presidential Documents
Federal Register
Vol. 5, No. 80
Tuesday, April 26, 1994
____________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
Proclamation 6677 of April 22, 1994
Announcing the Death of Richard Milhous Nixon
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES:
It is with deep sadness that I announce officially the
death of Richard Milhous Nixon, the thirty-seventh
President of the United States, on April 22, 1994.
A naval officer cited for meritorious service in World
War II, Richard Nixon has long been a fixture in our
national life. In a career of public service that
spanned a quarter of a century, he helped to shape
American history. Before taking office as President in
1969, he served with distinction in the United States
House of Representatives, in the United States Senate,
and as Vice President in the Eisenhower Administration.
From his early days in the Congress, through his tenure
in the White House, and throughout the two decades that
have passed since he left office, he remained a fierce
advocate for freedom and democracy around the world.
Leaders in statecraft and students of international
affairs will long look for guidance to President
Nixon's tremendous accomplishments. His struggle to
bridge the gaps between the United States and the
former Soviet Union--beginning in the famous ``kitchen
debate'' with Nikita Khrushchev and culminating with
the detente of the early 1970s--helped to maintain the
peace during a volatile era. Our improved relationship
with the Chinese people today has grown from President
Nixon's bold visit to China over 20 years ago. And in
the many books he wrote more recently, he presented a
cogent picture of emerging global politics that will
serve as a guide for policy makers for years to come.
President Nixon offered our Nation a great many
positive domestic initiatives as well. His work to
clean up the environment, change our Nation's welfare
system, improve law enforcement, and reform health care
serves as an inspiration to us today as we seek to
place the ``American Dream'' within the grasp of all of
our citizens.
In his book, In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat
and Renewal, President Nixon wrote, ``I believe . . .
that the richness of life is not measured by its length
but by its breadth, its height and its depth.'' This
is, indeed, a most fitting epitaph for his remarkable
life. He suffered defeats that would have ended most
political careers, yet he won stunning victories that
many of the world's most popular leaders have failed to
attain. On this solemn day, we recognize the
significant value of his contributions to our Nation,
and we pray that he left us with enough of his wisdom
to guide us safely into the next century.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by the authority vested in me
by the Constitution and laws of the United States, in
tribute to the memory of President Nixon and as an
expression of public sorrow, do hereby direct that the
flag of the United States be displayed at half-staff at
the White House and on all buildings, grounds, and
naval vessels of the United States for a period of 30
days from the day of his death. I also direct that for
the same length of time the representatives of the
United States in foreign countries shall make similar
arrangements for the display of the flag at half-staff
over their Embassies, Legations, and other facilities
abroad, including all military facilities and stations.
I hereby order that suitable honors be rendered by
units of the Armed Forces under orders of the Secretary
of Defense on the day of the funeral.
I do further appoint the day of interment to be a
National Day of Mourning throughout the United States.
I encourage the American people to assemble on that day
in their respective places of worship to pay homage to
the memory of President Nixon and to seek God's
continued blessing on our land. I invite the people of
the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn
observance.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and eighteenth.
(Presidential Sig.)>
[FR Doc. 94-10248
Filed 4-25-94; 11:20 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
Editorial note: For the President's remarks on the
death of President Nixon, see issue 17 of the Weekly
Compilation of Presidential Documents.