Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2011

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8683 of May 27, 2011

Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2011

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For over two centuries, brave men and women have laid
down their lives in defense of our great Nation. These
heroes have made the ultimate sacrifice so we may
uphold the ideals we all cherish. On this Memorial Day,
we honor the generations of Americans who have fought
and died to defend our freedom.

Today, all who wear the uniform of the United States
carry with them the proud legacies of those who have
made our Nation great, from the patriots who fought at
Lexington and Concord to the troops who stormed the
beaches at Normandy. Ordinary men and women of
extraordinary courage have, since our earliest days,
answered the call of duty with valor and unwavering
devotion. From Gettysburg to Kandahar, America's sons
and daughters have served with honor and distinction,
securing our liberties and laying a foundation for
lasting peace.

On this solemn day in which Americans unite in
remembrance of our country's fallen, we also pray for
our military personnel and their families, our
veterans, and all who have lost loved ones. As a
grateful Nation, we forever carry the selfless
sacrifice of our fallen heroes in our hearts, and we
share the task of caring for those they left behind.

In his second Inaugural Address, in the midst of the
Civil War, President Lincoln called on our embattled
Nation ``to care for him who shall have borne the
battle, and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all
which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting
peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.'' On this
Memorial Day, and every day, we bear a heavy burden of
responsibility to uphold the founding principles so
many died defending. I call on all Americans to come
together to honor the men and women who gave their
lives so that we may live free, and to strive for a
just and lasting peace in our world.

In honor of our fallen service members, the Congress,
by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended
(36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President issue a
proclamation calling on the people of the United States
to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for
permanent peace and designating a period on that day
when the people of the United States might unite in
prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also
designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time
for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the
National Moment of Remembrance.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial
Day, May 30, 2011, as a day of prayer for permanent
peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each
locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite
in prayer. I also ask all Americans to observe the
National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m.
local time on Memorial Day.

I request the Governors of the United States and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the appropriate
officials of all units of government, to direct that
the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this
Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval
vessels throughout the United States

and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I
also request the people of the United States to display
the flag at half-staff from their homes for the
customary forenoon period.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.