[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 48 (Monday, December 5, 1994)]
[Pages 2439-2440]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6758--National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 1994

November 29, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Fifty-three years ago, the quiet of a Sunday morning was shattered 
by a surprise attack against units of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed at 
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. After the attack, more than 2,400 Americans were 
dead or missing, including 68 civilians. Another 1,000 people were 
wounded.
    December 7, 1941, marked the beginning of America's involvement in 
World War II--a war that fundamentally reshaped the international 
geopolitical landscape, as well as the economic, political, and cultural 
institutions of our Nation. It involved America in a worldwide battle 
against the forces of fascism and oppression. It ended forever our 
country's isolation from world events.
    Those Americans who remember World War II have a profound 
responsibility: to pass on the lessons of that conflict to the 
generations that have followed. Never again can America be unprepared, 
or permit an aggressor to threaten our vital interests, or isolate 
itself from events of global significance. America must be a leader in 
the continuing struggle for lasting peace. As President John F. Kennedy 
affirmed:
      ``Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we 
      shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support 
      any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and 
      the success of liberty.''
    During World War II, more than 400,000 Americans made the ultimate 
sacrifice to ensure the continued survival of our Nation and the 
precious gift of peace. On this day, we give thanks to the noble 
veterans of World War II for the priceless liberty they helped to 
secure. For them, for their children, and for all the inheritors of 
democracy, we must remain ever vigilant in the defense of freedom.

[[Page 2440]]

    The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, has designated December 7, 
1994, as ``National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.''
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim December 7, 1994, as National 
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I urge all Americans to observe this day 
with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities in honor of the 
Americans who served at Pearl Harbor. I also ask all Federal departments 
and agencies, organizations, and individuals to fly the flag of the 
United States at half-staff on this day in honor of those Americans who 
died as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 
day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-
four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two 
hundred and nineteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:08 p.m., November 29, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
December 1.