[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 38 (Monday, September 22, 1997)]
[Pages 1347-1348]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7023--National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 1997

September 16, 1997

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Throughout our Nation's history, the men and women of America's 
Armed Forces have preserved our freedom, protected our security, and 
upheld our democratic values. From the battles of the American 
Revolution through the crucible of two world wars to the challenging 
peacekeeping and humanitarian missions of today's post-Cold War era, our 
men and women in uniform have stood proudly in defense of the United 
States and in the cause of liberty. In the two centuries since our 
Nation's birth, more than a million have paid the price of that liberty 
with their lives.
    Joining the ranks of these heroes are the thousands who have been 
held as prisoners of war or whose fate has never been resolved. Many 
have been lost in the chaos of battle, the grief of their loss made more 
acute for their families and their fellow Americans because of the 
inability to determine whether they perished or survived. Captive 
Americans, cruelly stripped of their freedom, treated with contempt and 
brutality, or used as pawns by their captors in a larger political 
struggle, have fought long, lonely battles against despair, physical and 
psychological torture, and the ultimate fear of being forgotten.
    But Americans will never forget those who have borne the indignities 
and sufferings of

[[Page 1348]]

captivity in service to our country, those missing in action, or those 
who died as prisoners of war, far from home and family. On National POW/
MIA Recognition Day, we reaffirm our commitment to those still missing 
and renew our pledge to make every effort to obtain the answers to their 
fate. We can do no less for these American heroes and for their 
families, who have endured such profound loss and whose suffering 
continues as long as their loved ones' fate remains unknown.
    On September 19, 1997, the flag of the National League of Families 
of American Prisoners of War and Missing in Southeast Asia will be flow 
over the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Departments of State, 
Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service System 
Headquarters, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans 
Memorial, and national cemeteries across our country. This black and 
white banner, symbolizing America's missing, is a stark and powerful 
reminder to people around the world that our Nation will keep faith with 
those who have served and sacrificed; that we will not rest until we 
receive the fullest possible accounting of every American missing in 
service to our country.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, by virtue of the authority 
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do 
hereby proclaim September 19, 1997, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. 
I ask all Americans to join me in honoring former American prisoners of 
war and those whose fate is still undetermined. I also encourage the 
American people to remember with special sympathy and concern the 
courageous families who maintain their steadfast vigil and who persevere 
in their search for answers and for the peace that comes only with 
certainty. Finally, I call upon State and local officials and private 
organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and 
activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day 
of September, 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-second.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., September 18, 
1997]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
September 19.