Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 83.djvu/977

 83 STAT. ]

PROCLAMATION 3916-JUNE 5, 1969

949

civilization. The Sixtli of June was transformed on that day from a date on the calendar to a historical landmark in the history of freedom. The valiant leader and many of the valiant men who made victory possible by their efforts on that day are now gone. Their triumph, however, remains, for it was a triumph of the human spirit. Our Nation and nations of free men everywhere are forever grateful for the sacrifices made in Normandy. Twenty-five years have not diminished but have, rather, enhanced the profound importance of that day. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD NIXON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 6, 1969, as D-Day Twenty-Fifth Anniversary D a y; and I invite the people of this Nation to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies designed to commemorate the brave men living and dead who did so much to open this path to victory and peace. I N W I T N E S S WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the one hundred and ninety-third.

(^/ZJL^^K.:/^ Proclamation 3916 FLAG DAY AND NATIONAL FLAG WEEK, 1969 By the President of the United States of America

June 5, iges^

A Proclamation

I t has become customary when referring to the flag of the United States of America to concentrate on what it represents. Every American has pledged allegiance to the flag "and to the Republic for which it stands." From time to time, liowever, it is necessary to remind ourselves not only of what the flag stands for but of what it is. Our flag is a fragile but infinitely strong piece of cloth. What that piece of cloth stands for we all know. What we sometimes forget, however, is that it is precisely because those things which the flag represents are intangible that we need a flag at all. A flag is meant to be seen. Only when it is displayed does it stir us. Our ideals we can honor with our words and deeds; our flag must be honored by an essentially spiritual reaction to a visual stimulus. On June 14, 1777, the Congress delineated the present form of the flag. These men gave it form; we give it life by displaying it, honoring it, and meditating on those qualities and attributes it so beautifully and proudly symbolizes. I n commemoration of the adoption of our flag, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved August 3, 1949 (63 Stat. 492), designated June 14 of each year as Flag Day and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling for its observance; by a joint resolution approved June 9, 1966 (80 Stat. 194), the Congress has requested the President to issue annually a proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as National Flag Week and calling upon all citizens to display the flag of the United States on those days. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD NIXON, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the week beginning June 8, 1969, as National Flag Week, and I direct the appropriate

36 USC 157. 36 USC 157a.

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