[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 32065-32066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13922]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 107 / Friday, June 3, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 32065]]

                Proclamation 8683 of May 27, 2011

                
Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2011

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For over two centuries, brave men and women have laid 
                down their lives in defense of our great Nation. These 
                heroes have made the ultimate sacrifice so we may 
                uphold the ideals we all cherish. On this Memorial Day, 
                we honor the generations of Americans who have fought 
                and died to defend our freedom.

                Today, all who wear the uniform of the United States 
                carry with them the proud legacies of those who have 
                made our Nation great, from the patriots who fought at 
                Lexington and Concord to the troops who stormed the 
                beaches at Normandy. Ordinary men and women of 
                extraordinary courage have, since our earliest days, 
                answered the call of duty with valor and unwavering 
                devotion. From Gettysburg to Kandahar, America's sons 
                and daughters have served with honor and distinction, 
                securing our liberties and laying a foundation for 
                lasting peace.

                On this solemn day in which Americans unite in 
                remembrance of our country's fallen, we also pray for 
                our military personnel and their families, our 
                veterans, and all who have lost loved ones. As a 
                grateful Nation, we forever carry the selfless 
                sacrifice of our fallen heroes in our hearts, and we 
                share the task of caring for those they left behind.

                In his second Inaugural Address, in the midst of the 
                Civil War, President Lincoln called on our embattled 
                Nation ``to care for him who shall have borne the 
                battle, and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all 
                which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting 
                peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.'' On this 
                Memorial Day, and every day, we bear a heavy burden of 
                responsibility to uphold the founding principles so 
                many died defending. I call on all Americans to come 
                together to honor the men and women who gave their 
                lives so that we may live free, and to strive for a 
                just and lasting peace in our world.

                In honor of our fallen service members, the Congress, 
                by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended 
                (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President issue a 
                proclamation calling on 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. The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also 
                designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time 
                for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the 
                National Moment of Remembrance.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial 
                Day, May 30, 2011, as a day of prayer for permanent 
                peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each 
                locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite 
                in prayer. I also ask all Americans to observe the 
                National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. 
                local time on Memorial Day.

                I 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

[[Page 32066]]

                and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I 
                also 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-seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2011-13922
Filed 6-2-11; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W1-P