Proclamation 4659

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

We live in a time of transition for the American family, but the strength and stability of a healthy, loving family life continues to remain the bedrock on which our society is organized.

The evolving roles of men and women in our society have posed new challenges and opened new opportunities, for fathers as well as mothers. To the degree that mothers are assuming a more active role in the nation's workforce, fathers are being asked to play an even greater role in the upbringing of their children. At the same time, they continue to carry out their traditional duties of helping to support their families financially, emotionally and spiritually.

Traditionally, our nation each year sets aside Father's Day as a special time to honor America's fathers. The character of each of us has been molded and shaped in part by our own fathers. Father's Day is a time for all of us to reflect on the sacrifices our fathers have made on our behalf. It also is a time for fathers to receive that most precious gift, the love and gratitude of those thy have nurtured and protected for so many years.

Now, THEREFORE, I, JIMMY CARTER, President of the United States of America, do hereby request that Sunday, June 17, 1979, be observed as Father's Day. I direct Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on this day and I urge all citizens to display the flag at their homes and other suitable places.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and third.

JIMMY CARTER

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:30 p.m., April 30, 1979]