[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 2, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 29769-29770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14125]



[[Page 29767]]

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Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 7201--Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1999
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 2, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 29769]]

                Proclamation 7201 of May 26, 1999

                
Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The challenges to our Nation's peace and freedom are as 
                old as American history and as new as today's 
                headlines. They have taken many forms through the 
                years, from the bitter discord of civil war at home to 
                the aggression of tyrants abroad. But the price of 
                peace and freedom has always remained the same: the 
                service and sacrifice of our young men and women in 
                uniform.

                Looking back across the decades, we marvel at the valor 
                and determination of these gallant Americans who, in 
                each generation, have stepped forward to preserve our 
                freedom, defend our democracy, uphold our ideals, and 
                protect our interests. The battles in which they fought 
                and died--Brandywine, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, 
                Belleau Wood, Coral Sea, Inchon, Khe Sahn--are a 
                testament to uncommon courage and indomitable spirit. 
                Those who survived were forever changed. Those who died 
                stay forever young in their loved ones' memories. Their 
                final thoughts most likely were of home and family; 
                their final actions purchased the freedom we enjoy 
                today.

                Now, on Memorial Day, our thoughts turn to them. We 
                remember with profound gratitude those who took to the 
                seas and skies in moments of peril for our Nation. We 
                remember those who marched through mud or rice paddies, 
                snow or sand, because they knew, as President 
                Eisenhower reminded us, that ``a soldier's pack is not 
                so heavy a burden as a prisoner's chains'' and that 
                true peace is won only by those willing to die for it. 
                We remember those in the Normandy American Cemetery 
                overlooking Omaha Beach who, 55 years ago, relit the 
                torch of freedom in a war-weary Europe. We remember 
                those whose final resting place is unknown, but whose 
                sacrifice is known to us all. The passing of time and 
                the blessings of peace and prosperity can never make us 
                forget what these brave Americans endured and what they 
                lost so that right would triumph, freedom would 
                survive, and our Nation would prevail.

                In honor of all the courageous men and women who gave 
                their lives in defense of our Nation and our 
                fundamental ideals, I ask that every American say a 
                prayer for lasting peace on this Memorial Day. I ask 
                that every American remember our heroic war dead in 
                some special way, whether by placing flowers on a 
                veteran's grave, lighting a candle, observing a moment 
                of silence, or saying a prayer of thanks. While we can 
                never fully repay our debt to America's fallen 
                warriors, we can remember their service and honor their 
                sacrifice.

                In respect and recognition of the courageous men and 
                women to whom we pay tribute, the Congress, by joint 
                resolution approved on 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 American 
                people might unite in prayer.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial 
                Day, May 31, 1999, as a day of prayer for permanent 
                peace, and I designate the hour beginning at 3:00 p.m. 
                EDT of that day as a time to join in prayer. I urge the 
                press,

[[Page 29770]]

                radio, television, and all other information media to 
                take part 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 until noon on 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 
                twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-14125
Filed 6-1-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P