[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 46 (Monday, November 16, 1998)]
[Pages 2282-2283]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7146--Veterans Day, 1998

November 9, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    This year on Veterans Day, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the 
armistice that finally silenced the guns of World War I. Millions of 
brave Americans marched into Europe and into the brutality of trench 
warfare to fight that war. Although President Woodrow Wilson recognized 
that ``it is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into 
war,'' he also realized that it was important to do so ``for the things 
which we have always carried nearest our hearts--for democracy, for the 
right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own 
Governments . . . .'' The veterans of the First World War accepted this 
burden and privilege, which American men and women in uniform have borne 
throughout the decades and still bear today.
    At Cantigny, St. Mihiel, Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and the 
Meuse-Argonne, American soldiers withstood the onslaughts of the enemy 
and, with extraordinary valor and unbending determination, turned the 
tide of battle and won a signal victory for democracy. Our Nation has 
been truly blessed by the service of these veterans who set an 
extraordinary example of courage and devotion to country that inspired 
the generations of Americans who followed them into the Armed Forces.
    Through two world wars, through long and costly struggles against 
aggression in Korea and Vietnam, through conflict in the Persian Gulf, 
and in numerous peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, America's 
veterans have risked their lives and spilled their blood to keep faith 
with our Nation's fundamental values of freedom, democracy, and human 
dignity. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to these patriots, whose 
service and sacrifice have allowed us to raise our children in a country 
blessed with peace and prosperity and to shape a brighter future for 
nations around the world.
    In grateful recognition of the contributions of those who have 
served in our Armed Forces, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103(a)) 
that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public 
holiday to honor America's veterans. On Veterans Day, we honor all those 
who have served in our Armed Forces, and we remember with deep respect 
those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. America's veterans 
have answered the highest calling of citizenship, and they continue to 
inspire us with the depth

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of their patriotism and the generosity of their service.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim Wednesday, November 11, 1998, as 
Veterans Day. I urge all Americans to acknowledge the courage and 
sacrifice of our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and 
private prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to 
display the flag of the United States and to encourage and participate 
in patriotic activities in their communities. I invite civic and 
fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, businesses, unions, 
and the media to support this national observance with suitable 
commemorative expressions and programs.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of 
November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., November 10, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
November 12.