Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 103 Part 3.djvu/1072

 103 STAT. 3140 PROCLAMATION 6054—OCT. 25, 1989 eighty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hiindred and foiirteenth. '; GEORGE BUSH Proclamation 6054 of October 25, 1989 " Polish American Heritage Month, 1989 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation This month, we Americans honor the millions of men and women of Polish descent who have helped build oiir Nation and keep it strong and prosperous. Many important chapters in American history—and even the story of hope now imfolding in their ancestral homeland—^pro- vide moving testimony to the faith, courage, and hard work of Polish Americans. During the Revolutionary War, courageous Poles such as General Casi- mir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko helped to win the American strug- gle for independence. These two men clearly understood that liberty is the God-given right of all men, and the cause of freedom is imiversal. Like many of their contemporaries, they knew that the hopes of free- dom-loving peoples arovmd the world were invested in our Nation's great experiment in self-government. Today, we pay tribute to the millions of Polish immigrants who—even though they arrived in this country with little more than the clothes on their backs—have built strong families and thriving communities across the United States. With great faith in God and in America's promise of freedom and opportunity for all, they have worked with pride and dili- gence. All of us have been eruiched by their success. Polish Americans have not only prospered, they have also become re- sponsible citizens and true patriots. Many Polish Americans were among the thousands of men and women who served our Nation with distinction during World Wars I and II. As we gratefully remember their courage and selflessness, we also recall the contributions of our Polish allies in the defeat of Nazi Germany. Throughout our Nation's history, the people of the United States and Poland have been united not only by cultiu-al and familial ties, but also by our common love for freedom and representative government. Po- land's history chronicles the struggles of a people who would not be deterred in their fight for liberty and the right to self-determination. The Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, drafted only a few years after our Nation's own, was one of the first written national constitutions in the world. Its creation vividly demonsfrated the Poles' determination to secure a free and just system of government. Despite years of repression by ruling officials, military invasion by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939, and the declaration of martial law in 1981, that resolve has remained unshaken. Indeed, after years of struggle and sacrifice, the persistence of the Polish people is

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