Flag Day and National Flag Week, 2014

Proclamation 9140 of June 6, 2014

Flag Day and National Flag Week, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Over farmlands and town squares, atop skyscrapers and
capitol buildings, the American flag soars. It reminds
us of our history--13 colonies that rose up against an
empire--and celebrates the spirit of 50 proud States
that form our Union today. On Flag Day and during
National Flag Week, we pay tribute to the banner that
weaves us together and waves above us all.

For more than two centuries, Americans have saluted Old
Glory in times of trial and triumph. Generations have
looked to it as they steeled their resolve, and an
unbroken chain of men and women in uniform has served
under our flag. From the banks of Baltimore's Inner
Harbor to European trenches and Pacific islands, from
the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan,
they have risked their lives so we might live ours.
When we lay our veterans to rest, many go draped with
the stars and stripes upon them, and their families
find solace in the folds of honor held tightly to their
chest. Because of their sacrifice, our Nation is
stronger, safer, and will always remain a shining
beacon of freedom for the rest of the world.

With a familiar design that has evolved along with a
growing Nation, our flag stitches the ideals for which
America was born to the reality of our times. It
reminds us that fidelity to our founding principles
requires new responses to new challenges. As we prepare
to meet the great tests of our age, let every American
draw inspiration from this symbol of our past, our
present, and our common dreams.

To commemorate the adoption of our flag, the Congress,
by joint resolution approved August 3, 1949, as amended
(63 Stat. 492), designated June 14 of each year as
``Flag Day'' and requested that the President 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, by joint resolution approved June 9, 1966,
as amended (80 Stat. 194), that the President annually
issue a proclamation designating the week in which June
14 occurs as ``National Flag Week'' and call upon
citizens of the United States to display the flag
during that week.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 14,
2014, as Flag Day and the week beginning June 8, 2014,
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 displaying
the flag. 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 America, 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 two thousand
fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.