[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 46 (Monday, November 20, 2000)]
[Pages 2856-2857]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7375--Veterans Day, 2000

 November 10, 2000

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    On this day, in ceremonies across our Nation and around the world, 
Americans gather to pay tribute to our veterans. In community centers 
and church halls, at VFW posts and U.S. embassies, in quiet cemeteries 
and on battlefields fallen silent, we pause to honor the brave men and 
women of our Armed Forces whose devotion to duty and willingness to 
serve have sustained our country for more than two centuries.
    Over the course of our history, some 41 million Americans have 
served--and more than a million have died--so that we might live in 
freedom. We are the beneficiaries of their courage, their sacrifice, and 
their vigilance; and so are countless freedom-loving people around the 
world.
    In the past century alone, through two world wars and the long, 
tense struggle of the Cold War; on the front lines in Korea, Vietnam, 
Beirut, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Haiti, the Persian Gulf, and the 
Balkans, our brave men and women in uniform have risked their lives to 
protect U.S. interests, assist our allies, promote peace, and advance 
our ideals. Thanks to their extraordinary record of service, more people 
now live under democratic rule than at any other time in history. And 
today, America is a stronger

[[Page 2857]]

Nation in a more secure world because of our veterans.
    President Kennedy once said, ``Democracy is never a final 
achievement. It is a call to untiring effort, to continual sacrifice and 
to the willingness, if necessary, to die in its defense.'' Today we give 
thanks to the veterans of our Armed Forces for showing that willingness. 
Whether serving on bases and in ports at home or deployed across the 
globe, they have endured hardship and danger to protect our Nation and 
assist our allies. The story of America has been written, in large part, 
by the deeds of our veterans--deeds that bind us to our past, inspire us 
in the present, and strengthen us to meet the challenges of the future.
    In honor 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 pay tribute to 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 
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 Saturday, November 11, 2000, 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 tenth day of 
November, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence 
of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.
                                            William J. Clinton

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:46 a.m., November 14, 
2000]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
November 15.