[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 105 (Thursday, June 2, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 28461-28462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13585]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 2, 1994]




                        Presidential Documents 



                Proclamation 6696 of May 30, 1994

 

Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1994

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Each year as summer approaches, we pause to honor the 
                memory of those who died in service to our Nation. Even 
                though the Cold War is over, there are still 
                reminders--past and present--that the price of peace 
                can be very dear indeed. One reminder, engraved in the 
                stone memorial at the Omaha Beach Cemetery, eloquently 
                states, ``To these we owe our highest resolve, that the 
                cause for which they died, shall live.'' Whether at 
                Valley Forge or in the skies above Iraq, this tribute 
                poignantly expresses the gratitude felt by all 
                Americans as we remember the men and women in uniform 
                who made the supreme sacrifice.

                Each year, on the last Monday in May, we pause to pray 
                for peace and to pay homage to those who have died 
                defending our liberties, service men and women from all 
                generations and from all wars. But this year, Memorial 
                Day especially recalls those Americans who helped 
                change the course of history and helped preserve a 
                world in which the ideals of freedom and individual 
                rights could flourish. One week from today, on June 6, 
                we will observe the 50th Anniversary of D-Day. On that 
                day in 1944, the world witnessed perhaps the greatest 
                military action in history--and the beginning of the 
                end of Nazi Germany's stranglehold on Europe.

                The passage of 50 years has seen the birth of new 
                generations of Americans who know of D-Day only from 
                their history lessons. Fifty years may have dimmed the 
                memories of some who were alive during World War II, 
                but we need only look at those ``reminders'' of the 
                price of freedom to understand what happened on that 
                day 50 years ago.

                Anzio, Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and 
                Normandy--each is an unforgettable chapter in our 
                Nation's history. Each is a name that invokes memories 
                of patriotism and valor, of teamwork and sacrifice.

                Each reminds us that our Nation was founded on the 
                belief that our democratic ideals are worth fighting 
                for and, if necessary, worth dying for. We have a 
                sacred obligation to remember for all time the names 
                and the deeds of the Americans who paid that price for 
                all of us.

                In respect and recognition of those courageous men and 
                women to whom we pay tribute today, the Congress, by 
                joint resolution of May 11, 1950 (64 Stat. 158), has 
                requested the President to issue a proclamation calling 
                upon the people of the United States to observe each 
                Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and 
                designating a period on that day when the people of the 
                United States might unite in prayer.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial 
                Day, May 30, 1994, as a day of prayer for permanent 
                peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each 
                locality at 11 o'clock in the morning of that day as a 
                time to unite in prayer. I urge the press, radio, 
                television, and all other information media to 
                cooperate in this observance.

                I also request the Governors of the United States and 
                the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the appropriate 
                officials of all units of government, to direct that 
                the flag be flown at half-staff during this Memorial 
                Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels 
                throughout the United States and in all areas under its 
                jurisdiction and control, and I request the people of 
                the United States to display the flag at half-staff 
                from their homes for the customary forenoon period.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirtieth day of May, 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. 94-13585
Filed 5-31-94; 2:39 pm]
Billing code 3195-01-P