Veterans Day, 2000

Proclamation 7375 of November 10, 2000

Veterans Day, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On this day, in ceremonies across our Nation and around
the world, Americans gather to pay tribute to our
veterans. In community centers and church halls, at VFW
posts and U.S. embassies, in quiet cemeteries and on
battlefields fallen silent, we pause to honor the brave
men and women of our Armed Forces whose devotion to
duty and willingness to serve have sustained our
country for more than two centuries.

Over the course of our history, some 41 million
Americans have served--and more than a million have
died--so that we might live in freedom. We are the
beneficiaries of their courage, their sacrifice, and
their vigilance; and so are countless freedom-loving
people around the world.

In the past century alone, through two world wars and
the long, tense struggle of the Cold War; on the front
lines in Korea, Vietnam, Beirut, Grenada, Panama,
Somalia, Haiti, the Persian Gulf, and the Balkans, our
brave men and women in uniform have risked their lives
to protect U.S. interests, assist our allies, promote
peace, and advance our ideals. Thanks to their
extraordinary record of service, more people now live
under democratic rule than at any other time in
history. And today, America is a stronger Nation in a
more secure world because of our veterans.

President Kennedy once said, ``Democracy is never a
final achievement. It is a call to untiring effort, to
continual sacrifice and to the willingness, if
necessary, to die in its defense.'' Today we give
thanks to the veterans of our Armed Forces for showing
that willingness. Whether serving on bases and in ports
at home or deployed across the globe, they have endured
hardship and danger to protect our Nation and assist
our allies. The story of America has been written, in
large part, by the deeds of our veterans--deeds that
bind us to our past, inspire us in the present, and
strengthen us to meet the challenges of the future.

In honor of those who have served in our Armed Forces,
the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103 (a)) that
November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal
public holiday to honor America's veterans. On Veterans
Day, we pay tribute to all those who have served in our
Armed Forces, and we remember with deep respect those
who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. America's
veterans have answered the highest calling of
citizenship, and they continue to inspire us with the
depth of their patriotism and the generosity of their
service.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim Saturday,
November 11, 2000, as Veterans Day. I urge all
Americans to acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of
our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and
private prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local
officials to display the flag of the United States and
to encourage and participate in patriotic activities in
their communities. I invite civic and fraternal
organizations, places of worship, schools, businesses,
unions, and the media to support this national
observance with suitable commemorative expressions and
programs.

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