Proclamation 6808

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

This week, Americans celebrate the Flag of the United States, which for more than two centuries has brought our people together in a common bond of citizenship. We reaffirm our allegiance to freedom's banner-"Old Glory"-and to the proud history it has inspired. We honor the valor and sacrifices of all who have defended it-in public service and on battlegrounds around the world. And we rededicate ourselves to the democratic ideals stitched forever into the fabric of America.

In towns and cities across the country, public buildings fly the Stars and Stripes as a symbol of our Nation's spirit of community. That spirit was never more evident than this past April in Oklahoma, where the flag appeared on the sleeves of rescue workers, emergency personnel, and volunteers from throughout the land. A shining badge of honor, it reminded all who mourned that we Americans have seen countless trials and have emerged from each one stronger than ever.

Earlier this year, in expressing our gratitude to the men and women who served in uniform during the Second World War, the Nation observed the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima. We recalled the day, immortalized in sculpture, when a team of brave Americans beat all odds and hoisted aloft the American flag. May we, the heirs of the freedom they fought to defend, always remember their courage and serve as loyal standard-bearers for the cause of liberty.

To commemorate 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 an annual Proclamation calling for its observance and for the display of the Flag of the United States on all Government buildings. The Congress also requested the President, by joint resolution approved June 9, 1966 (80 Stat. 194), to issue annually a Proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as "National Flag Week," and calling upon all citizens of the United States to display the flag during that week.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 14, 1995, as Flag Day and the week beginning June 11, 1995, as National Flag Week. I direct the appropriate officials of the Government to display the Flag of the United States on all Government buildings during that week. I urge Americans to observe Flag Day, June 14, and Flag Week by flying the Stars and Stripes from their homes and other suitable places.

I also call upon the American people to observe with pride and all due ceremony those days from Flag Day through Independence Day, also set aside by the Congress (89 Stat. 211), as a time to honor America and to celebrate our heritage in public gatherings and activities and to publicly recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and nineteenth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:12 p.m., June 12, 1995]