    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 22 (Monday, June 7, 1993)]
    [Page 1001]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Proclamation 6568--Time for the National Observance of the Fiftieth
    Anniversary of World War II

     May 31, 1993

    By the President of the United States

    of America

    A Proclamation

        Americans live in an era when there are no major confrontations
    between world powers. This period of peace traces its roots back 50
    years to the Second World War. Our Armed Forces stood strong against
    totalitarian regimes that sought to dominate and suppress freedom-loving
    peoples of the world. Although Americans felt ill-equipped to take on
    the vast international responsibilities, we rose to take on world
    leadership. In the process, we learned the price of aggression and the
    benefits of peace.
        At the end of the Cold War, it is therefore fitting to remember the
    years of World War II and those brave and selfless American patriots who
    stood strong and true against tyranny so that we could enjoy a safer and
    more prosperous life. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's thoughts about
    the time still apply today:
          We are faced with the pre-eminent fact that, if civilization is to
          survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationship--the
          ability of all people, of all kinds, to live together and work
          together in the same world, at peace. . . .
    Our generation and future generations must heed these words. In a world
    warmed by the sunshine of freedom, but threatened still by ancient
    hatreds and new plagues, the United States of America must stand as a
    beacon of liberty and justice.
        During this period of remembrance and reflection, it is appropriate
    that Memorial Day be included during the ``Time for the National
    Observance of the Fiftieth Anniversary of World War II.'' As we preserve
    the memory of the events of World War II and honor the memory of our
    loved ones lost during that tragic time, I call upon Americans to study
    the history of that era so that the values our Nation defended and the
    lessons we learned will never be forgotten. I ask that we celebrate
    freedom and peace in our houses of worship and in our halls of
    government, in private thanksgiving and public ceremonies, and that we
    remember and honor our Nation's World War II veterans.
        The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 80, has designated May 30,
    1993, through June 7, 1993, as a ``Time for the National Observance of
    the Fiftieth Anniversary of World War II.''
        Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United
    States of America, do hereby designate May 30, 1993, through June 7,
    1993, as a Time for the National Observance of the Fiftieth Anniversary
    of World War II. I call upon all Americans to observe this period with
    appropriate programs and activities.
        In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first
    day of May, 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, 2:44 p.m., June 3, 1993]

    Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on June 7.