[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 127, 113th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8987--MAY 24, 2013

Proclamation 8987 of May 24, 2013

Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2013
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Since our Nation's earliest days, America has been blessed with an
unbroken chain of patriots who have served our country with honor and
distinction. From Concord to the Korengal, generations of brave warriors
have fought for freedom across sand and snow, over mud and mountains,
into lonely deserts and through crowded streets. Today, we pay tribute
to those patriots who never came back--who fought for a home to which
they never returned, and died for a country whose gratitude they will
always have.
Scripture teaches us that ``greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends.'' On Memorial Day, we remember
those we have lost not only for what they fought for, but who they were:
proud Americans, often far too young, guided by deep and abiding love
for their families, for each other, and for this country. Our debt to
them is one we can never fully repay. But we can honor their sacrifice
and strive to be a Nation equal to their example. On this and every day,
we must meet our obligations to families of the fallen; we must uphold
our sacred trust with our veterans, our service members, and their loved
ones.
Above all, we can honor those we have lost by living up to the ideals
they died defending. It is our charge to preserve liberty, to advance
justice, and to sow the seeds of peace. With courage and devotion worthy
of the heroes we remember today, let us rededicate ourselves to those
unending tasks, and prove once more that America's best days are still
ahead. Let us pray the souls of those who died in war rest in eternal
peace, and let us keep them and their families close in our hearts, now
and forever.




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In honor of all of our fallen service members, the Congress, by a joint
resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has
requested the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of
the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for
permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of
the United States might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law
106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time
for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of
Remembrance.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, as a day of
prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each
locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite in prayer. I also
ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance
beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day.
I request the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, and the appropriate officials of all units of government,
to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this
Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the
United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I
also request the people of the United States to display the flag at
half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day
of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.
BARACK OBAMA