[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 41 (Monday, October 15, 2007)]
[Page 1323]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Proclamation 8189--General Pulaski Memorial Day, 2007

 October 10, 2007

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    More than two hundred years after the death of General Casimir 
Pulaski, we honor the life and legacy of a Polish patriot and American 
Revolutionary War soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.
    Casimir Pulaski first demonstrated his devotion to the cause of 
liberty while defending his native Poland and earned a reputation for 
courage and resolve. He later met Benjamin Franklin in Paris and learned 
of America's struggle for independence. Inspired by freedom's call, 
Pulaski joined General George Washington in the American Revolution in 
1777 and was soon commissioned as a Brigadier General. General Pulaski 
recruited and trained a special corps of American, Polish, Irish, 
French, and German troops, and he became known as ``the Father of the 
American Cavalry.'' Although he was mortally wounded at the siege of 
Savannah in 1779, his legacy lives on.
    As we celebrate General Pulaski Memorial Day, we honor a son of 
Poland who stood with our country at the dawn of our independence. 
Casimir Pulaski's determined efforts in Poland and America remind us of 
the great contributions Polish Americans have made to our country. 
Today, we recognize the enduring bond between the Polish and American 
people, and we are grateful for Poland's efforts in support of freedom 
and democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq and in the global war on terror.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 11, 2007, as 
General Pulaski Memorial Day. I urge Americans to commemorate this 
occasion with appropriate activities and ceremonies honoring General 
Casimir Pulaski and all those who defend our freedom.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of 
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
second.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:53 a.m., October 12, 
2007]

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