[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2012)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 45477-45478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18869]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 148 / Wednesday, August 1, 2012 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 45477]]


                Proclamation 8844 of July 27, 2012

                
National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, 2012

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Sixty-two years ago, the Communist invasion of the 
                Republic of Korea summoned a generation of Americans to 
                serve. From the landings at Inchon to the Pusan 
                Perimeter, from Heartbreak Ridge to Chosin Reservoir, 
                our forces fought with immeasurable courage in one of 
                the defining moments of the Cold War. Today, on the 
                59th anniversary of the Military Armistice Agreement 
                signed at Panmunjom, we honor all who served in the 
                Korean War, and we pay lasting tribute to the brave men 
                and women who gave their lives for our Nation.

                Through 3 years of combat, American service members and 
                allied forces overcame some of the most unforgiving 
                conditions in modern warfare. They weathered bitter 
                winters and punishing heat. They fought on with courage 
                and distinction--often outgunned and outmanned. Many 
                Americans suffered wounds that would never fully heal. 
                Still more we count among the captured and the missing, 
                and our resolve to account for Americans who did not 
                come home will never waver. Most of all, we honor the 
                tens of thousands of Americans who gave their lives 
                defending a country they had never known and a people 
                they had never met. Their legacy lives on not only in 
                the hearts of the American people, but in a Republic of 
                Korea that is free and prosperous; an alliance that is 
                stronger than ever before; and a world that is safer 
                for their service.

                Shortly after the Military Armistice Agreement was 
                signed, President Dwight D. Eisenhower noted that 
                ``with special feelings of sorrow--and of solemn 
                gratitude--we think of those who were called upon to 
                lay down their lives in that far-off land to prove once 
                again that only courage and sacrifice can keep freedom 
                alive upon the earth.'' Nearly six decades later, we 
                renew that call to honor and reflect. Now and forever, 
                let us keep faith with our Korean War veterans by 
                upholding the ideals they fought to protect, and by 
                supporting them with the care and respect they so 
                deeply deserve.

                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 July 27, 2012, as 
                National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. I call upon 
                all Americans to observe this day with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities that honor our distinguished 
                Korean War veterans.

[[Page 45478]]

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

[FR Doc. 2012-18869
Filed 7-31-12; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F2-P