[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 22 (Monday, June 5, 1995)]
[Pages 916-917]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6806--Time for the National Observance of the Fiftieth 
Anniversary of World War II, 1995

May 26, 1995

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    In remembering the nightmare we now know as World War II, it is 
natural and fitting that we pause to mourn our loss. Eleven million 
service members--more than 400,000 of them American--perished in that 
war. Countless more civilians died in its awful course. We Americans 
retain a special bond to all of these heroes. We've seen pictures of 
their faces and told stories of their courage. For when the darkest days 
of fear seemed to tear our world apart, the brave millions we now honor 
kept liberty alive.
    As the forces of oppression sought to extinguish freedom's light, 
Americans from every walk of life heard the call to service. Women 
joined our Nation's factories, and farmers doubled their efforts in our 
fields. Victory gardens flourished across the land, and although the 
rationing of goods made our dinners less than feasts, the sharing of a 
cause filled our hearts with hope. Hand in hand, our parents and 
grandparents led our Nation on to victory, and together with our allies, 
we prevailed.
    Like the men and women who fought half a century ago, Americans 
today are just as bound to defend the cause of freedom. Now as then, we 
are privileged to see the triumph of democracy in nations too long 
oppressed. Now as then, we know that service is our highest call. And 
still today, we pray for lasting peace.
    May the spirit of those prayers forever grace our land. May they 
guide relations between citizens and friendships among nations. May our 
children remember our cause well, and may they one day see a time when 
harmony fills the Earth.
    The Congress, by Public Law 103-291, has designated May 29, 1995, 
through June 6, 1995, 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 proclaim May 29, 1995, through June 6, 
1995, as a Time for the National Observance of the Fiftieth Anniversary 
of World War II. I call upon all Americans to celebrate these days with 
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth 
day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, 
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, 1:43 p.m., May 30, 1995]

[[Page 917]]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on May 29, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
June 1.