[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 71 (Thursday, April 11, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 25747-25748]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07844]



[[Page 25745]]

Vol. 89

Thursday,

No. 71

April 11, 2024

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 10726--National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, 
2024
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 71 / Thursday, April 11, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 25747]]

                Proclamation 10726 of April 8, 2024

                
National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, 
                2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On this day, we honor the more than half a million 
                brave patriots who sacrificed their freedom as 
                prisoners of war--risking their own safety for the 
                safety of their fellow Americans. We recommit to 
                fulfilling our country's one truly sacred obligation: 
                to prepare and equip those we send into harm's way and 
                to care for them and their families when they return 
                home and when they do not.

                Last September, I visited a memorial in Hanoi for my 
                friend, former United States Senator John McCain, who 
                had been imprisoned there for five and a half years 
                when he was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. I 
                reflected on the unfathomable conditions and pain that 
                he and so many others have endured as prisoners of war. 
                It was a solemn reminder of the grave costs of war and 
                the immense sacrifices American service members are 
                willing to make to defend our Nation. They have always 
                embodied the highest expectations of our democracy--
                daring all and risking all so that our country remains 
                free and our people remain safe. We owe them and their 
                families, caregivers, and survivors a debt of gratitude 
                we can never fully repay but will never cease trying to 
                fulfill.

                Today, and every day, we recommit to this vow. We honor 
                the unbending courage and unshakable devotion of our 
                former prisoners of war. We reaffirm our commitment to 
                bringing home all those still missing or unaccounted 
                for. We pledge to keep faith in all these heroes and 
                their families--just as they have kept ultimate faith 
                in our Nation.

                May God bless our former prisoners of war and their 
                families, caregivers, and survivors--and may God 
                protect our troops.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 April 9, 2024, 
                as National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day. I 
                call upon Americans to observe this day by honoring the 
                service and sacrifice of all former prisoners of war as 
                our Nation expresses its eternal gratitude for their 
                service. I also call upon Federal, State, and local 
                government officials and organizations to observe this 
                day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

[[Page 25748]]

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

[FR Doc. 2024-07844
Filed 4-10-24; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P