National Children's Memorial Day, 1998

Proclamation 7159 of December 11, 1998

National Children's Memorial Day, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

There is nothing more devastating to a family than the
death of a child. Each year, thousands of America's
families face this tragedy, losing their children to
illness, injury, or accident. Our whole society
experiences this loss as well, for we are all
diminished by the death of every one of our young
people, whose love, laughter, talents, and achievements
bring so much joy to our lives and so much promise to
our future.

The holiday season is an especially painful time for
parents who have lost a child, so it is fitting that we
set aside a special day during this month to
acknowledge the grief of these families and to pay
tribute to the lives and memories of their children. On
National Children's Memorial Day, let us all reach out,
whether as individuals or as members of caring
communities, to offer bereaved families the compassion,
support, and understanding they need to begin the
process of healing.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim December 13, 1998, as
National Children's Memorial Day. I call upon the
American people to observe this day with appropriate
programs and activities in remembrance of the infants,
children, teenagers, and young adults who have died and
to bring comfort to their families.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of December, 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.