[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 23 (Monday, June 9, 1997)]
[Pages 840-841]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7009--Flag Day and National Flag Week, 1997

June 6, 1997

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Our Nation's flag has always flown in the vanguard of the American 
journey, reminding us of our proud past and beckoning us into a future 
full of promise. Its bold colors reflect the courage and exuberance of 
the American people, and its simple but inspired design symbolizes both 
the unity and diversity that define our Nation.
    Adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, the Stars and 
Stripes became the official flag of the young United States and a 
compelling symbol of our new independence. Woven into its folds were the 
hopes, dreams, and determination of the extraordinary individuals who 
founded this country--hopes for a system of government that would honor 
the rights and dignity of every citizen; dreams that their great 
experiment in democracy would succeed; and determination to ensure that 
success, even at the cost of their own lives. Since that time, 
generations of Americans have invested the flag with their own hopes and 
dreams. Millions of immigrants, traveling to these shores to flee 
poverty or oppression, have rejoiced at their first glimpse of the 
American flag, confident that its promise of freedom, equality, and 
opportunity would prove true for them and their families.
    We have carried Old Glory to places undreamed of by our founders, 
from the depths of Earth's oceans to the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon. 
Through conflict and in peace, on missions of exploration and on 
missions of mercy, the flag has led us wherever our questing spirits 
have been willing to venture, and whenever America's freedom, security, 
and values have been threatened.
    On Flag Day and during National Flag Week, I encourage all Americans 
to join me in reflecting on the proud history and profound meaning of 
our flag. And let us pledge to keep faith with those generations of 
patriots, both military and civilian, who gave their lives to keep the 
flag flying over a Nation that is free, strong, and true to our highest 
ideals.
    To commemorate the adoption of our flag, the Congress, by joint 
resolution approved August 3, 1949 (63 Stat. 492), designated June 14 of 
each year as ``Flag Day'' and requested the President to issue an annual 
proclamation calling for its observance and for the display of the Flag 
of the United States on all Federal Government buildings. The Congress 
also requested the President, by joint resolution approved June 9, 1966 
(80 Stat. 194), to issue annually a proclamation designating the week in 
which June 14 occurs as ``National Flag Week'' and calling upon all 
citizens of the United States to display the flag during that week.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America,

[[Page 841]]

do hereby proclaim June 14, 1997, as Flag Day and the week beginning 
June 8, 1997, as National Flag Week. I direct the appropriate officials 
to display the flag on all Federal Government buildings during that 
week, and I urge all Americans to observe Flag Day and National Flag 
Week by flying the Stars and Stripes from their homes and other suitable 
places.
    I also call upon the people of the United States to observe with 
pride and all due ceremony those days from Flag Day through Independence 
Day, also set aside by the Congress (89 Stat. 211), as a time to honor 
our Nation, to celebrate our heritage in public gatherings and 
activities, and to publicly recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag 
of the United States of America.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of 
June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, 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, 10:37 a.m., June 9, 
1997]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
June 10.