National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, 2017

Proclamation 9629 of July 26, 2017

National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, we honor
the patriots who defended the Korean Peninsula against
the spread of Communism in what became the first major
conflict of the Cold War. We remember those who laid
down their lives in defense of liberty, in a land far
from home, and we vow to preserve their legacy.

Situated between World War II and the Vietnam War, the
Korean War has often been labeled as the ``Forgotten
War,'' despite its having claimed the lives of more
than 36,000 Americans. The Korean War began on June 25,
1950, when North Korean forces, backed by the Soviet
Union, invaded South Korea. Shortly thereafter,
American troops arrived and pushed back the North
Koreans. For 3 years, alongside fifteen allies and
partners, we fought an unrelenting war of attrition.
Through diplomatic engagements led by President
Eisenhower, Americans secured peace on the Korean
Peninsula. On July 27, 1953, North Korea, China, and
the United Nations signed an armistice suspending all
hostilities.

While the armistice stopped the active fighting in the
region, North Korea's ballistic and nuclear weapons
programs continue to pose grave threats to the United
States and our allies and partners. At this moment,
more than 28,000 American troops maintain a strong
allied presence along the 38th parallel, which
separates North and South Korea. These troops, and the
rest of our Armed Forces, help me fulfill my unwavering
commitment as President to protecting Americans at home
and to steadfastly defending our allies abroad.

As we reflect upon our values and pause to remember all
those who fight and sacrifice to uphold them, we will
never forget our Korean War veterans whose valiant
efforts halted the spread of Communism and advanced the
cause of freedom.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim July 27, 2017, as
National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. I call upon
all Americans to observe this day with appropriate
ceremonies and activities that honor and give thanks to
our distinguished Korean War veterans.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord two
thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
second.