[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