[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 111 (Tuesday, June 10, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 31699-31700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-15386]
[[Page 31697]]
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Part V
The President
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Proclamation 7009--Flag Day and National Flag Week, 1997
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 111 / Tuesday, June 10, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 31699]]
Proclamation 7009 of June 6, 1997
Flag Day and National Flag Week, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Our Nation's flag has always flown in the vanguard of
the American journey, reminding us of our proud past
and beckoning us into a future full of promise. Its
bold colors reflect the courage and exuberance of the
American people, and its simple but inspired design
symbolizes both the unity and diversity that define our
Nation.
Adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777,
the Stars and Stripes became the official flag of the
young United States and a compelling symbol of our new
independence. Woven into its folds were the hopes,
dreams, and determination of the extraordinary
individuals who founded this country--hopes for a
system of government that would honor the rights and
dignity of every citizen; dreams that their great
experiment in democracy would succeed; and
determination to ensure that success, even at the cost
of their own lives. Since that time, generations of
Americans have invested the flag with their own hopes
and dreams. Millions of immigrants, traveling to these
shores to flee poverty or oppression, have rejoiced at
their first glimpse of the American flag, confident
that its promise of freedom, equality, and opportunity
would prove true for them and their families.
We have carried Old Glory to places undreamed of by our
founders, from the depths of Earth's oceans to the Sea
of Tranquility on the Moon. Through conflict and in
peace, on missions of exploration and on missions of
mercy, the flag has led us wherever our questing
spirits have been willing to venture, and whenever
America's freedom, security, and values have been
threatened.
On Flag Day and during National Flag Week, I encourage
all Americans to join me in reflecting on the proud
history and profound meaning of our flag. And let us
pledge to keep faith with those generations of
patriots, both military and civilian, who gave their
lives to keep the flag flying over a Nation that is
free, strong, and true to our highest ideals.
To commemorate the adoption of our flag, the Congress,
by 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 Federal
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.
[[Page 31700]]
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 14,
1997, as Flag Day and the week beginning June 8, 1997,
as National Flag Week. I direct the appropriate
officials to display the flag on all Federal Government
buildings during that week, and I urge all Americans to
observe Flag Day and National Flag Week by flying the
Stars and Stripes from their homes and other suitable
places.
I also call upon the people of the United States 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 our
Nation, 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
sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-seven, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-first.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-15386
Filed 6-9-97; 10:37 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
