Proclamation 4442

May 27, 1976

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).

Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the week beginning June 13, 1976, as National Flag Week, and I direct the appropriate officials of the Government to display the flag on all Government buildings during the week. I urge all Americans to observe Flag Day, June 14, and Flag Week by flying the Stars and Stripes from their homes and other suitable places.

In Witness 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 t m hundredth.



GERALD R. FORD