    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [June 14, 1993]
    [Pages 841-842]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Flag Day Proclamation
    June 14, 1993

        Good morning. Welcome to the Rose Garden, and thank you for joining
    us for this observance of Flag Day. As we begin, I want to introduce
    three children, to my left, to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance:
    Christopher Williams, an 8-year-old from Ketcham Elementary School;
    Delilah Johnson, who is also 8, from Ketcham Elementary School; and Sean
    Mizzer, 10 years old, from Watkins Elementary School. They are now going
    to lead us in the pledge.

    [At this point, the students recited the Pledge of Allegiance.]

        Good job. Let's give them a hand. I thought they did well. Thank
    you. [Applause]
        Thank you. Please be seated. I want to acknowledge the presence of a
    few of our guests in the audience today, including Mr. James Kenney, the
    national commander of AMVETS; Mr. Louis Koerber, the president of
    National Flag Day Foundation; Mr. George Cahill, the president of the
    National Flag Foundation; and Mrs. Romaine Thomas, who is the principal
    of Ketcham Elementary School, where two of these children attend school.
    Thank you all.
        On this day in 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and
    Stripes as the official flag of our Nation. Throughout our history, this
    flag has been a potent symbol of America and what it means to be an
    American. You can hear America's reverence for the flag in our music
    from our national anthem, ``The Star-Spangled Banner,'' written by
    Francis Scott Key in 1814, to George M. Cohan's ``You're a Grand Old
    Flag,'' to John Philip Sousa's magnificent march ``The Stars and Stripes
    Forever,'' performed best by his very own United States Marine Band.
        We owe a great debt to the members of our armed services, who have
    defended this flag through two centuries now. The United States Army,
    coincidentally, also celebrates its birthday today. As we honor the
    Army's 218 years of history, let us also remember the brave Americans
    who today are defending the United Nations relief operations in Somalia.
    Their efforts are a reminder to all of us that we are blessed with
    enormous freedoms in America.
        Think of the pledge we have just made, words we have known since
    childhood, words that come easily to us, so we often recite them without
    even stopping to think about their true memory. A ``republic'' is a
    government of, by, and for the people. ``One Nation'': From our myriad
    diversity, from all of our differences, we still have a deeper measure
    of unity. ``Under God'': the reminder that self-government is a sacred
    trust. ``Indivisible'': Through a tragic civil war we learned the wisdom
    of President Lincoln's lesson that ``a house divided against itself
    cannot stand.'' It is not enough for our house to stand, however. We
    must remember that a house stands strongest when it stands together.
    ``With liberty and justice for all'' is a promise that we must strive to
    make real, not just in our words but in what we do.
        These ideas have brought new Americans to our shores from the
    beginning of our existence. They make our flag a symbol of hope to
    people all around the world. To those of you here who

    [[Page 842]]

    are recently naturalized citizens, I say, welcome. A few of you even
    work here, and we're proud to have you. I'm proud to have you on our
    staff and more proud to be your fellow citizen and to know that all of
    you feel as deeply about this country as I do.
        Since President Truman's time it has been customary for the
    President to sign a proclamation designating June 14th as Flag Day in
    the United States. I want to do that now, and then make a presentation.

    [At this point, the President signed the proclamation.]

        Since we teach citizenship at an early age, I want to ask
    Christopher Williams to come up here and to accept on behalf of his
    school, Ketcham Elementary, this flag which flew above the United States
    Capitol this morning. Christopher, I want you to take this flag, along
    with your schoolmates, back to your school and honor it. It symbolizes
    both your rights and your responsibilities as an American. You should be
    very proud of this.
        I'd also like any newly naturalized Americans to stand up. Do we
    have any new citizens here? Let's give them a hand. Look at them.
    [Applause] Thank you.
        Last night when we had the press party here at the White House,
    perhaps the most moving encounter I had was a couple came through the
    line; both of them were born in South America. But they had their little
    child with them who had just been born in the United States, and the
    child's T-shirt said ``Future President'' on it. [Laughter] There you
    are. Look, there he is right there. Give him a hand, the father of the
    child. [Applause]
        This is a special day. The children remind us of it, and so do our
    new citizens. Thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:36 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. The proclamation is listed in Appendix D at the end of this
    volume.