[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 23 (Monday, June 9, 2003)]
[Page 732]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7684--Flag Day and National Flag Week, 2003

June 6, 2003

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Each year, we set aside June 14 to commemorate the day in 1777 when 
the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official 
flag of our Republic. With this act, the Congress declared that we were 
one Nation, under one flag, united for the cause of liberty and justice 
for all.
    As a symbol of our patriotism, the American flag continues to invoke 
pride and resolve among our people, especially when we see it next to a 
headstone, on the masts of our military ships, worn by the generations 
of Americans who have proudly served our country, or emerging from the 
wreckage caused by a natural or manmade disaster. Flying over public 
buildings, monuments, schools, and homes, our flag is testament to the 
ideals of American democracy.
    Through the years, millions of immigrants have come to our shores 
seeking to share in the promise of freedom represented by our flag. From 
war-torn Europe, to the mountains of Afghanistan, to the deserts of 
Iraq, the flag and those who carry it are universally recognized as 
harbingers of liberation, justice, and peace. Regardless of 
circumstance, our flag endures as a sign of hope.
    On Flag Day, we look to the red, white, and blue as a symbol of our 
commitment to advancing the universal hope of liberty and justice for 
all. Old Glory abounds in the landscape of our daily lives, reminding us 
of the freedom we share. The 50 stars and 13 stripes are not just a 
random pattern, they symbolize the blessings of liberty we enjoy as 
Americans.
    To commemorate the adoption of our flag, the Congress, by joint 
resolution approved August 3, 1949, as amended (63 Stat. 492), 
designated June 14 of each year as ``Flag Day'' and requested that the 
President 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, by joint resolution 
approved June 9, 1966, as amended (80 Stat. 194), that the President 
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, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, do hereby proclaim June 14, 2003, as Flag Day and the week 
beginning June 8, 2003, 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 America, 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 two thousand three, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
seventh.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., June 10, 
2003]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
June 11.