[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 51 (Monday, December 22, 2003)]
[Page 1815]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7745--Wright Brothers Day, 2003

 December 17, 2003

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    A spirit of exploration and discovery has been a part of the 
American character since our founding days. Orville and Wilbur Wright 
exemplified this spirit when they made the dream of human flight a 
reality on December 17, 1903. On Wright Brothers Day, we honor the 
vision of these bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio, and celebrate the 
centennial of manned, powered flight.
    One hundred years ago, the Wright brothers changed our world with 
their 12-second, 120-foot flight in North Carolina. Their achievement 
inspired other aviation pioneers and marked the beginning of a new era 
of freedom. Since that first flight, aviation and aerospace technology 
has advanced at a remarkable pace, allowing us to fly across oceans, 
break the sound barrier, orbit the Earth, land on the moon, and study 
our universe in a way our ancestors could not have imagined. Each new 
generation of engineers and other inventors, following in the Wright 
Brothers' footsteps, continues to move the technology of flight further.
    Today, air transportation touches the lives of people throughout the 
United States, and helps unite the American people. Air transportation 
brings families and friends together, delivers aid to those in need, and 
facilitates industry and commerce.
    As we look to the future, we remember the extraordinary 
accomplishments of the Wright Brothers. Their determination and 
innovation continue to inspire us as we embark on the second century of 
flight.
    The Congress, by a joint resolution approved December 17, 1963 (77 
Stat. 402; 36 U.S.C. 143) as amended, has designated December 17 of each 
year as ``Wright Brothers Day'' and has authorized and requested the 
President to issue annually a proclamation inviting the people of the 
United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and 
activities.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, do hereby proclaim December 17, 2003, as Wright Brothers Day.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day 
of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
eighth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., December 22, 
2003]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
December 23.