[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 14 (Monday, April 12, 1993)]
[Pages 566-567]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6541--National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, 1993

 April 9, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    As Americans enter a new era that holds prospects for greater 
international cooperation and the expansion of democracy's reach, we are 
deeply indebted to the Armed Forces of the United States. We recognize 
that their service helped our Nation preserve liberty through two World 
Wars and the testing regional conflicts of the Cold War era and since. 
We remember how their sacrifices helped to maintain our way of life and 
safeguard freedom's cause.
    The sacrifices made by our military personnel take many forms, from 
their willingness to serve, to their countless acts of selfless courage, 
to the expenditure by hundreds of thousands in this century of that 
last, full measure of devotion in behalf of their country. Today, we 
honor the particular sacrifice of the thousands of Americans who have 
been captured and held as prisoners of war--in Europe and the Pacific, 
in Korea and Vietnam, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, 
and elsewhere.
    We know that many of our men and women in uniform have been subject 
to brutal torture and inhumane deprivation. The treatment they endured 
too often violated fundamental standards of morality and stood in stark 
contravention of international treaties and customs governing the 
treatment of prisoners of war. Many of these brave Americans were 
disabled or died as a result of such treatment. Their experiences 
underscore our debt to those who place their lives in harm's way and 
stand willing to trade their liberty for ours. As a Nation, we must 
always remember the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform and 
their families.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 9, 1993, as National 
Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day.

[[Page 567]]

I urge all Americans to join in honoring all members of the Armed Forces 
of the United States who have been held prisoners of war. I also 
encourage all Americans to join in saluting these individuals for their 
great sacrifices. Finally, I call on State and local officials, as well 
as private organizations, to observe this day with appropriate 
ceremonies and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of 
April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
seventeenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:47 a.m., April 12, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
April 13.