Flag Day and National Flag Week, 2013

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8993 of June 7, 2013

Flag Day and National Flag Week, 2013

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Each June, our Nation lifts its sights to the flag that
has watched over us since the days of our founding. In
those broad stripes and bright stars, we see the arc of
the American story--from a handful of colonies to 50
States, united and free.

When proud patriots took up the fight for independence,
they came together under a standard that showed their
common cause. When the wounds of civil war were still
fresh and our country walked the long road to
reconstruction, our people found hope in a banner that
testified to the strength of our Union. Wherever our
American journey has taken us, whether on that unending
path to the mountaintop or high above into the reaches
of space, Old Glory has followed, reminding us of the
rights and responsibilities we share as citizens.

This week, we celebrate that legacy, and we honor the
brave men and women who have secured it through
centuries of service at home and abroad. Let us raise
our flags high, from small-town storefronts to duty
stations stretched around the globe, and let us look to
them once more as we press on in the march toward a
more perfect Union.

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,
2013, as Flag Day and the week beginning June 9, 2013,
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
seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord two
thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.