Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 69.djvu/990

 C20

PROCLAMATIONS—FEB. 21, 1955

[69 STAT.

WHEREAS the members of the armed forces of the United States are now engaged in undertakings designed to uphold and defend the free way of life, to maintain the peace, and to ensure our national security; and WHEREAS it is fitting and proper that we devote one day each year to paying special tribute to the armed forces of the United States and all those who have honorably served therein; and WHEREAS it is in the public interest that on such day the armed forces of the United States give public displays and demonstrations of their teamwork and technological advancements, so that our own and other peace-loving people of the world may enlarge their understanding and appreciation of our national power for peace; and WHEREAS it is also appropriate, to an extent consistent with security requirements, that on this occasion the armed forces of the United States open the gates of our national defense system and invite the public to visit our posts, camps, stations, bases, vessels, armories, reserve centers and other facilities: Armed Forces Day, NOW, THEREFORE, I, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States, do hereby proclaim Saturday, May 21, 1955, as Armed Forces Day, and I direct the Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, as well as the Secretary of the Treasury on behalf of the Coast Guard, to mark that day with appropriate ceremonies, to arrange for displays and demonstrations at armed forces installations, and to cooperate with civil authorities in suitable supporting activities. I invite the Governors of the States, Territories and possessions of the United States to provide for the observance of the day in such appropriate manner as will afford an opportunity for the people of the United States to become better acquainted with their armed forces. I also call upon my fellow citizens not only to display the flag of the United States on Armed Forces Day, thus manifesting their recognition of the sacrifices and devotion to duty of the armed forces, but also to avail themselves of this opportunity to further their knowledge of our defense system and of the men and women who constitute its real strength, by attending and participating in the local observances of the day conducted by the armed forces and the civil authorities. I N W I T N E S S WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this twenty-first day of February in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-five, [SEAL] and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-ninth, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER By the President: HERBERT HOOVER, J r.,

Acting Secretary of State.

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