Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 111 Part 3.djvu/822

 Ill STAT. 2910 PROCLAMATION 7006—MAY 22, 1997 affirmed our pledge for a strong U.S. -flag fleet when I signed into law the Maritime Security Act of 1996. This legislation sets the course for America's Merchant Marine into the 21st century, sustaining a strong sealift capability and bolstering national security. The Act will strengthen American maritime and allied industries, while energizing our efforts to further stimulate the economy through trade and commerce. As we look to the challenges of the future, we recognize the continuing importance of our U.S. domestic maritime fleet to the maintenance of our Nation's commercial and defense maritime interests. I commend the merchant mariners whose unstinting service has helped maintain both our domestic and our international U.S. fleets. In recognition of the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine, the Congress, by a resolution approved May 20, 1933, has designated May 22 of each year as "National Maritime Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling for its observance. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 22, 1997, as National Maritime Day. I urge all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities and by displaying the flag of the United States at their homes and in their communities. I also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on that day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety- seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-first. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7006 of May 22, 1997 Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1997 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The observance of Memorial Day is one of America's noblest traditions. At its core lies the most basic of the beliefs on which our Nation was founded: that freedom is so precious it is worth the price of our lives to preserve it. Throughout our history, we have been blessed by the courage and commitment of Americans who were willing to pay that price, and more than 1.3 million of them have died for our Nation. From Lexington and Concord to Iwo Jima and the Persian Gulf, on fields of battle across America and around the world, our men and women in uniform have risked—and lost—their lives to protect America's interests, to advance the ideals of democracy, and to defend the liberty we hold so dear. This spirit of selfless sacrifice is an imbroken thread woven through our history. Wherever they came from, whenever they served, our fallen heroes knew they were fighting to preserve our freedom. On Memo-

�