Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2014

Proclamation 9133 of May 23, 2014

Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Constant in the American narrative is the story of men
and women who loved our country so deeply they were
willing to give their all to keep it safe and free.
When a revolution needed to be won and our Union needed
to be preserved, brave patriots stepped forward. When
our harbor was bombed and our country was attacked on a
clear September morning, courageous warriors raised
their hands and said, ``send me.'' On the last Monday
of each May, our Nation comes together to honor the
selfless heroes who have defended the land we love and
in so doing gave their last full measure of devotion.

Today, we pause to remember our fallen troops, to mourn
their loss, and to pray for their loved ones. Though
our hearts ache, we find a measure of solace in knowing
their legacy lives on in the families our heroes left
behind--the proud parents who instilled in their sons
and daughters the values that led them to serve; the
remarkable spouses who gave our Nation the person they
cherished most in the world; and the beautiful children
who will grow up with the knowledge that their mother
or father embodied the true meaning of patriotism. To
those we lost, we owe a profound debt that can never be
fully repaid. But we can honor the fallen by caring for
their loved ones and keeping faith with our veterans
and their fellow brothers and sisters in arms.

The security that lets us live in peace, the prosperity
that allows us to pursue our dreams, the freedom that
we cherish--these were earned by the blood and the
sacrifices of patriots who went before. This Memorial
Day, as we near the end of more than a decade of war,
let us never forget their service and always be worthy
of the sacrifices made in our name. And today and every
day, let us pray for and hold close the families of the
fallen.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial
Day, May 26, 2014, 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, officials of the other
territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States, and 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-third day of May, 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.