[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 52 (Monday, January 1, 2007)]
[Pages 2209-2210]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 8093--Announcing the Death of Gerald R. Ford

 December 27, 2006

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

To the People of the United States:

    It is my sad duty to announce officially the death of Gerald R. 
Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States, on December 26, 
2006.
    President Ford was a great man who devoted the best years of his 
life to serving the United States of America. He was also a true 
gentleman who reflected the best in America's character. Before the 
world knew his name, he served with distinction in the United States 
Navy and the United States House of Representatives. As a congressman 
from Michigan, and then as Vice President, he commanded the respect and 
earned the

[[Page 2210]]

goodwill of all who had the privilege of knowing him. On August 9, 1974, 
he stepped into the presidency without having ever sought the office.
    During his time in office, the American people came to know 
President Ford as a man of complete integrity, who led our country with 
common sense and kind instincts. Americans will always admire Gerald 
Ford's unflinching performance of duty, the honorable conduct of his 
Administration, and the great rectitude of the man himself. We mourn the 
loss of such a leader, and our thirty-eighth President will always have 
a special place in our Nation's memory.
    President Ford lived 93 years, and his life was a blessing to 
America. Now this fine man will be taken to his rest by a family that 
will love him always and by a Nation that will be grateful to him 
forever.
     Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States 
of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws 
of the United States, in honor and tribute to the memory of Gerald R. 
Ford, and as an expression of public sorrow, do hereby direct that the 
flag of the United States be displayed at half-staff at the White House 
and on all buildings, grounds, and Naval vessels of the United States 
for a period of 30 days from the day of his death. I also direct that 
for the same length of time, the representatives of the United States in 
foreign countries shall make similar arrangements for the display of the 
flag at half-staff over their Embassies, Legations, and other facilities 
abroad, including all military facilities and stations.
    I hereby order that suitable honors be rendered by units of the 
Armed Forces under orders of the Secretary of Defense.
    In a further expression of our national grief, I will appoint in a 
subsequent proclamation a National Day of Mourning throughout the United 
States when the American people may assemble in their respective places 
of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President Ford.
     In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh 
day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
first.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., January 3, 
2007]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
January 4, 2007.