[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 178 (Thursday, September 13, 2012)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 56523-56524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22704]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 178 / Thursday, September 13, 2012 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 56523]]


                Proclamation 8859 of September 7, 2012

                
National Days of Prayer and Remembrance, 2012

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Eleven years ago, America confronted one of our darkest 
                days. The events of September 11, 2001, brought 
                collapsing towers in Manhattan and billowing smoke at 
                the Pentagon, wreckage on a Pennsylvania field, and 
                deep ache to the soul of our Nation. Nearly 3,000 
                innocent people lost their lives that morning; still 
                more gave theirs in service during the hours, days, and 
                years that followed. All were loved, and none will be 
                forgotten. On these days of prayer and remembrance, we 
                mourn again the men, women, and children who were taken 
                from us with terrible swiftness, stand with their 
                friends and family, honor the courageous patriots who 
                responded in our country's moment of need, and, with 
                God's grace, rededicate ourselves to a spirit of unity 
                and renewal.

                Those who attacked us sought to deprive our Nation of 
                the very ideals for which we stand--but in the 
                aftermath of this tragedy, the American people kept 
                alive the virtues and values that make us who we are 
                and who we must always be. Today, the legacy of 
                September 11 is one of rescue workers who rushed to the 
                scene, firefighters who charged up the stairs, 
                passengers who stormed the cockpit--courageous 
                individuals who put their lives on the line to save 
                people they never knew. It is also a legacy of those 
                who stood up to serve in our Armed Forces. In the 11 
                years since that day, more than 2 million American 
                service members have gone to war. They have 
                volunteered, leaving the comforts of home and family to 
                defend the country they love and the people they hold 
                dear. Many have returned with dark memories of distant 
                places and fallen friends; too many will never return 
                at all. As we mark these solemn days, we pay tribute to 
                the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in 
                faraway lands, to heroes who died in the line of duty 
                here at home, and to all who keep faith with the 
                principles of service and sacrifice that will always be 
                the source of America's strength.

                On September 11, 2001, in our hour of grief, a Nation 
                came together. No matter where we came from, what God 
                we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we 
                were united as one American family. This weekend, as we 
                honor the memory of those we have lost, let us summon 
                that spirit once more. Let us renew our sense of common 
                purpose. And let us reaffirm the bond we share as a 
                people: that out of many, we are one.

                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 Friday, September 7 
                through Sunday, September 9, 2012, as National Days of 
                Prayer and Remembrance. I ask that the people of the 
                United States honor and remember the victims of 
                September 11, 2001, and their loved ones through 
                prayer, contemplation, memorial services, the visiting 
                of memorials, the ringing of bells, evening candlelight 
                remembrance vigils, and other appropriate ceremonies 
                and activities. I invite people around the world to 
                participate in this commemoration.

[[Page 56524]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventh day of September, 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. 2012-22704
Filed 9-12-12; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F2-P