Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 90 Part 2.djvu/1634

 90 STAT. 3102

PROCLAMATION 4442—MAY 27, 1976 On this special day, at a time when more Americans live in greater freedom than ever before, let us honor our fathers not only for their loving counsel, guidance, protection and support, but also for their courage in assuming the challenges and responsibilities synonymous with fatherhood. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FOR D, President of the United States of America, in accordance with a joint resolution of the Congress (36 U.S.C. 142a), do hereby request that Sunday, June 20, 1976, be observed as Father's Day, with appropriate public and private expressions of the love and gratitude we bear for our fathers. I call upon the appropriate Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on that day, and urge all citizens to do likewise at their homes and other suitable places.

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I N W I T N E S S WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundredth. GERALD R.

Proclamation 4442

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FORD

May 27, 1976

Flag Day and National Flag Week, 1976 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Less than a year after our forebears declared their independence, the Continental Congress chose a symbol of the new Nation they sought to bring into being and of the unity and resolve necessary to make that new Nation a reality. On June 14, 1777, the delegates voted: "... that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation." With the addition of thirty-seven stars, our flag continues to symbolize a great and dynamic republic with the same commitment to liberty and justice. In this Bicentennial Year, all of us will join with our families, friends and neighbors in public celebrations of our Nation's birth. As we approach the 4th of July, it is especially appropriate this year that, on the anniversary of the adoption of our flag, we publicly express our dedication and respect for the flag of our Republic and the principles for which it stands. To commemorate the adoption of our flag, the Congress designated June 14 of each year as Flag Day and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling for its observance (36 U.S.C. 157). The Congress also requested the President to issue annually a proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as National Flag Week and to call upon all citizens of the United States to display the flag of the United States on those days (36 U.S.C. 157a).

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