    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    PROCLAMATION 8535--JUNE 11, 2010

    Proclamation 8535 of June 11, 2010
    Flag Day and National Flag Week, 2010
    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation

    When the Second Continental Congress adopted the American flag on June
    14, 1777, the thirteen stripes alternating red and white, and thirteen
    white stars in a blue field, represented ``a new constellation.'' On
    Flag Day, and throughout National Flag Week, we celebrate its lasting
    luminosity, and the enduring American story that it represents.
    Although the configuration of stars and stripes has changed over the
    years it has been flown, its significance and symbolism have not
    wavered. The flag that once helped unite a new Nation to confront
    tyranny and oppression still flies today as an unequivocal emblem of
    freedom and liberty. The same flag that has been raised on beaches and
    battlefields still adorns the uniforms of our heroic sons and daughters
    serving in America's Armed Forces, including our troops serving in
    harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    This past year, that same flag has continued to soar. When our American
    Olympic and Paralympics athletes were positioned triumphantly on the
    podiums of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, our
    majestic flag flew high above them. From homes to classrooms, civic
    gatherings to private memorials, we gathered to salute our flag, and in
    doing so, renewed the eternal promise of this glorious Nation.
    More than 220 years after Old Glory was first embraced by our Founders,
    the Stars and Stripes remain the symbol of our Nation's pride. On Flag
    Day and during National Flag Week we recognize the American flag as a
    symbol of hope and inspiration to people at home and around the world--
    as a constellation which grows brighter with every achievement earned
    and sacrifice borne by one of our citizens.
    To commemorate the adoption of our flag, the Congress, by joint
    resolution approved August 3, 1949, as amended (63 Stat. 492),
    designated June 14 of each year as ``Flag Day'' and requested that the
    President issue an annual proclamation calling for its observance and
    for the display of the flag of the United States on all Federal
    Government buildings. The Congress also requested, by joint resolution
    approved June 9, 1966, as amended (80 Stat. 194), that the President
    annually issue a proclamation designating the week in which June 14
    occurs as ``Na-

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    tional Flag Week'' and call upon citizens of the United States to
    display the flag during that week.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
    America, do hereby proclaim June 14, 2010, as Flag Day and the week
    beginning June 13, 2010, as National Flag Week. I direct the appropriate
    officials to display the flag on all Federal Government buildings during
    that week, and I urge all Americans to observe Flag Day and National
    Flag Week by displaying the flag. I also call upon the people of the
    United States to observe with pride and all due ceremony those days from
    Flag Day through Independence Day, also set aside by the Congress (89
    Stat. 211), as a time to honor America, to celebrate our heritage in
    public gatherings and activities, and to publicly recite the Pledge of
    Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of
    June, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence
    of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
    BARACK OBAMA