[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 243 (Monday, December 21, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 67801-67802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30411]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 243 / Monday, December 21, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 67801]]

                Proclamation 8465 of December 15, 2009

                
65th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, 2009

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In December 1944, a brave band of American soldiers, 
                stationed in the Ardennes Forest region on the Western 
                Front of Europe, who were surrounded, poorly supplied 
                and surviving in brutally cold conditions, took the 
                brunt of a furious German assault. Their valor defined 
                not just the beginning of the end of a World War, but 
                also one of the greatest generations of Americans. Like 
                patriots before them, they stood resolute, confident in 
                their training, and determined to preserve those 
                enduring American ideals of freedom and justice. On the 
                65th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, a grateful 
                Nation remembers the fallen who gave their lives in 
                that critical battle, and we pay tribute to the heroes 
                whose indomitable strength led to victory in World War 
                II.

                When asked about the Battle of the Bulge, British Prime 
                Minister Sir Winston Churchill remarked, ``This is 
                undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and 
                will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American 
                victory.'' Confronting not just the advancing German 
                Army, but the elements, American service members 
                withstood the assault and eventually repelled the Nazi 
                forces, but at tremendous cost in lives and wounded 
                soldiers.

                On this anniversary, we reflect on the enduring 
                commitment of our Armed Forces in defending our 
                liberty, as inspiring today as it was in 1944. The 
                discipline and courage displayed in the Battle of the 
                Bulge continues in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever our 
                men and women in uniform are serving. They represent 
                the best of our Nation and we are eternally grateful 
                for their service and sacrifice.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim Wednesday, December 
                16, 2009, as the 65th Anniversary of the Battle of the 
                Bulge. I encourage all Americans to observe this solemn 
                day of remembrance with appropriate ceremonies and 
                activities.

[[Page 67802]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. E9-30411
Filed 12-18-09; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W0-P