Proclamation 7127

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Throughout our Nation's history, brave Americans have put on the uniforms of our Armed Services and placed themselves in harm's way to preserve our cherished freedoms and advance the ideals of democracy. In the brutality of war, many have sacrificed their lives, bringing devastating pain and grief to their families and friends. No one feels such a loss more acutely than do the mothers and fathers of these patriots who have paid so dearly to serve our country. To bear and nurture children, to give them life and unbounded love, to raise them with care to adulthood, only to lose them to the fatal grip of war, brings an abiding sorrow.

Yet, with strength and determination, a group of extraordinary women has transformed sorrow into service to others. Since 1928, America's Gold Star Mothers have worked together to serve their communities and our Nation. They bring comfort and hope to disabled veterans and their families, to keep alive the memory of all Americans who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom, and to promote harmony among all the peoples of the world. Their quest for peace is especially poignant because they know better than most the cruel costs of war. Every Gold Star Mother has faced the inevitable and unyielding truth that the proud son or daughter who marched off to battle will never come home to her loving arms. Bound by sorrow yet filled with compassion, America's Gold Star Mothers are a noble example of love, dedication, and patriotism.

As a Nation, we have a sacred duty to remember those who have died in service to our country, but we have an important responsibility to the living as well. America's Gold Star Mothers deserve our unfailing gratitude and profound respect, not only for their courage and compassion in the face of great personal sadness, but also for their constant love for our country and their fellow Americans. That is why the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936 (49 Stat. 1895), has designated the last Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother's Day" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 27, 1998, as Gold Star Mother's Day. I call on all government officials to display the United States flag on government buildings on this day. I also urge the American people to display the flag and to hold appropriate meetings in their homes, places of worship, or other suitable places, as a public expression of the sympathy and the respect that our Nation holds for its Gold Star Mothers.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-third.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:26 a.m., September 28, 1998]