Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 79.djvu/1529

 79 STAT. ]

PROCLAMATION 3655-MAY 7, 1965

1489

Proclamation 3655 ARMED FORCES DAY By the President of the United States of America

^^^ 7, 1965

A Proclamation

WHEREAS the safety of our cherished freedom rests in large measure upon the capabilities of our Armed Forces to forestall totalitarian aggression; and WHEREAS the Armed Forces of the United States serve as a unified team, at home and at outposts throughout the world, insuring our own security and the security of our friends abroad, and fostering the settlement of international differences by peaceful processes; and WHEREAS enlightened understanding and unstinting support of our Armed Forces by an informed American people are vital to the strength and vigor of our Armed Forces; and WHEREAS our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen, from whom we ask so much, are the cornerstone of our military might and richly deserve to have a special day set aside in their honor: NOW, THEREFORE, I, LYNDON B. JOHNSON, President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, do hereby proclaim the third Saturday of May in 1965 and the third Saturday of May in each succeeding year as Armed Forces Day. I direct the Secretary of Defense on behalf of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps, and the Secretary of the Treasury on behalf of the Coast Guard, to designate that day each year for appropriate observances. The Secretary of Defense, as my personal representative, shall be responsible for the program contemplated by this proclamation and for soliciting the participation and cooperation in its execution by civil authorities and distinguished private citizens. I invite the Governors of the States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and other areas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, to provide for the observance of Armed Forces Day within their jurisdictions each year in an appropriate manner designed to enhance public understanding and appreciation of the Armed Forces of the United States as defenders of freedom at home and abroad. I call upon my fellow Americans to display the flag of the United States at their homes on Armed Forces Day. I invite them to take part in observances planned by personnel of the Armed Forces as a report to the Nation which they are sworn to protect. Proclamation No. 3172 of March 5, 1957, and Proclamation No. 3399 of March 18, 1961, are hereby superseded. '

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7i Stat. c24. 75 Stat. 1038.

I N W I T N E S S WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and p r e c. use.notes ^^36 1 4 1 caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. D O N E at the City of Washington this seventh day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-five, and of [SEAL] the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-ninth. LYNDON B. JOHNSON

By the President: DEAN RTJSK,

Secretary

of

State.

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