[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 30 (Monday, July 29, 1996)]
[Page 1342]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6910--National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, 1996

July 25, 1996

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Forty-three years ago, a negotiated cease-fire ended 3 years of open 
warfare on the Korean peninsula. This cease-fire came after more than 
54,000 American deaths and the capture of thousands of our brave 
soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. For those who returned home, the 
armistice brought mixed emotions--too many of their comrades-in-arms 
remained prisoners of war or missing in action, and the importance of 
this Cold War conflict was yet to be fully understood.
    Today, as the United States and South Korea maintain a strong 
partnership and democracy continues to sweep the globe, we remember the 
extraordinary sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform during the 
Korean conflict, and we pay tribute to their courage and their 
commitment to freedom. As American service men and women support the 
cause of peace around the world, we honor the proud legacy of our Korean 
War veterans who gave of themselves so that others might live in 
liberty. And as a testament to their proud and selfless service and 
sacrifice, the Korean War Veterans Memorial stands today in our Nation's 
Capital.
    The Congress, by Public Law 104-19 (36 U.S.C. 169m) has designated 
July 27, 1996, as ``National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day'' and has 
authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in 
observance of this day.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim July 27, 1996, as National Korean 
War Veterans Armistice Day. I call upon Government officials, educators, 
and the American people to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies 
and activities that recognize and give thanks to our Nation's 
distinguished Korean War veterans. I also ask Federal departments and 
agencies, interested groups, organizations, and individuals to fly the 
American flag at half-staff on July 27, 1996 in memory of the Americans 
who died as a result of their service in Korea.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth 
day of July, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-first.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:29 a.m., July 26, 
1996]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on July 26, and it will be published in the Federal Register 
on July 29.