pd06jn94 Digest of Other White House Announcements...

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    I'm going to sign the proclamations, and then Mr. Gober and Mr. 
Runyon are in charge of the rest of the program.

Note: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Deputy Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs Hershel Gober.


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[Page 1186-1187]
 
Monday, June 6, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 22
Pages 1177-1208
 
Week Ending Friday, June 3, 1994
 
Proclamation 6696--Prayer For Peace, Memorial Day, 1994

May 30, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Each year as summer approaches, we pause to honor the memory of 
those who died in service to our Nation. Even though the Cold War is 
over, there are still reminders--past and present--that the price of 
peace can be very dear indeed. One reminder, engraved in the stone 
memorial at the Omaha Beach Cemetery, eloquently states, ``To these we 
owe our highest resolve, that the cause for which they died, shall 
live.'' Whether at Valley Forge or in the skies above Iraq, this tribute 
poignantly expresses the gratitude felt by all Americans as we remember 
the men and women in uniform who made the supreme sacrifice.
    Each year, on the last Monday in May, we pause to pray for peace and 
to pay homage to those who have died defending our liberties, service 
men and women from all generations and from all wars. But this year, 
Memorial Day especially recalls those Americans who helped change the 
course of history and helped preserve a world in which the ideals of 
freedom and individual rights could flourish. One week from today, on 
June 6, we will observe the 50th Anniversary of D-Day. On that day in 
1944, the world witnessed perhaps the greatest military action in 
history--and the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany's stranglehold on 
Europe.
    The passage of 50 years has seen the birth of new generations of 
Americans who know of D-Day only from their history lessons. Fifty years 
may have dimmed the memories of some who were alive during World War II, 
but we need only look at those ``reminders'' of the price of freedom to 
understand what happened on that day 50 years ago.
    Anzio, Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and Normandy--each is 
an unforgettable chapter in our Nation's history. Each is a name that 
invokes memories of patriotism and valor, of teamwork and sacrifice.
     Each reminds us that our Nation was founded on the belief that our 
democratic ideals are worth fighting for and, if necessary, worth dying 
for. We have a sacred obligation to remember for all time the names and 
the deeds of the Americans who paid that price for all of us.
    In respect and recognition of those courageous men and women to whom 
we pay tribute today, the Congress, by joint resolution of May 11, 1950 
(64 Stat. 158), has requested the President to issue a proclamation 
calling upon 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.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 30, 1994, as a 
day of prayer for permanent peace,

[[Page 1187]]

and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11 o'clock in the 
morning of that day as a time to unite in prayer. I urge the press, 
radio, television, and all other information media to cooperate in this 
observance.
    I also 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 during 
this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels 
throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and 
control, and I 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 thirtieth day 
of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:39 p.m., May 31, 1994]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on June 2.


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[Page 1187-1189]
 
Monday, June 6, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 22
Pages 1177-1208
 
Week Ending Friday, June 3, 1994
 
Remarks at a Memorial Day Ceremony in Arlington, Virginia

May 30, 1994

    Thank you very much, Mrs. McIntosh, for your fine introduction and 
for your service to our Nation in Asia during the Second World War. To 
you and your husband, Professor Shriner, who sang so well--I could 
imagine him at the age of 24 singing again; to Katy Daley; all the 
others here; and General Gordon; the distinguished leaders of our Armed 
Forces, the Congress, and the administration; to the leaders of the 
veterans' organizations present here; to all of you who are veterans and 
your families; my fellow Americans.
    This morning we join, as we always do on this day, to honor the 
sacrifices that have made our Nation free and strong. All across our 
Nation, small towns are holding quiet Memorial Day ceremonies. Proud 
veterans are pinning on their medals. Children are laying wreaths. Men 
and women in uniform everywhere stand a little bit taller today as they 
salute the colors.
    Here at Arlington, row after row of headstones, aligned in silent 
formation, reminds us of the high cost of our freedom. Almost a quarter 
of a million Americans rest here alone, from every war since the 
Revolution. Among them are many names we know: General Pershing, Audie 
Murphy, General Marshall, and so many others. But far more numerous are 
the Americans whose names are not famous, whose lives were not legend 
but whose deeds were the backbone that secured our Nation's liberty. 
Today we honor them. We honor them all as heroes, those who are buried 
here and those who are buried all around the Nation and the world.
    If you look at the headstones, they don't tell you whether the 
people buried there are poor or rich. They make no distinction of race 
or of age or of condition. They simply stand, each of them, for one 
American. Each reminds us that we are descendants, whatever our 
differences, of a common creed, unbeatable when we are united: one 
nation under God.
    Fifty years ago, the world learned just what Americans are capable 
of when we joined in common cause in World War II. Later this week it 
will be my great honor to represent our Nation in Europe at the 
commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the World War II campaigns at 
Normandy and in Italy.
    World War II was an era of sacrifice unequalled in our own history. 
Over 400,000 Americans died in the service of our Nation. At D-Day 
alone, over 5,200 were killed or wounded in Normandy. But the battle 
that was fought there was not just between two armies; it was, as 
clearly as any conflict in all of human history, a battle between two 
ways of life.
    The totalitarians whose tanks had overrun so much of the earth 
honestly believed democracies were too undisciplined to survive. Hitler 
believed a free people would never muster the unity of purpose to win 
the Second World War. But in the chaos of battle, it was the 
independence and the can-do confidence of the sons and daughters of 
America and the other democracies that won the day. And all across our 
Nation, in factories and

[[Page 1188]]

farms and hospitals and blood banks, it was the energies of free people 
who turned the tide. General Eisenhower called it then ``the fury of an 
aroused democracy,'' the self-reliant fury that took Omaha Beach and 
liberated much of the Continent and, within a year, brought the war in 
Europe to an end.
    Today, too many of our youngest Americans know too little about what 
the heroes of that war did. The children and grandchildren of that 
generation have not been taught enough about the meaning of Normandy or 
Anzio or Guadalcanal or Midway. And that's why the commemorative 
ceremonies this year are so very important to all of us: To honor, we 
must remember.
    Today somewhere in America, a curious child rummaging through an 
attic will stumble upon his grandfather's insignia patches, a pocket 
guide to France, a metal cricket, a black-and-white photo of a smiling 
young man in uniform. But learning about those times and those deeds 
must be more than accidental.
    Fortunately, many of our fellow Americans understand that. Gail 
Thomas of Brentwood, Missouri, was one of them. Her parents both served 
in World War II. She's a librarian at the Mark Twain Elementary School 
in her community, and every year she brings in veterans of D-Day and 
other battles to speak to the students. She says the kids can't believe 
what those gray-haired men did when they were young. Then they 
understand that America is the way it is today because of what people 
gave up 50 years ago. That is the lesson we must all remember, not only 
for the veterans of World War II but for all our veterans on Memorial 
Day, on Veterans Day, and every day.
    The American veterans of World War II, though they fought in a 
terribly destructive conflict, at heart were builders. When they came 
home, they laid down the ribbons of interstate highways across this 
land. And through the GI bill, those who had fought and won the war were 
educated so they could win the fruits of victory in peaceful 
cooperation. In countries ravaged by war, they helped to lift cities 
from rubble to renewal. They created the international institutions that 
have undergirded our security for a half a century.
    Now our generation honors them for what they did 50 years ago, 
knowing full well that the greatest honor we can give is to build for 
the future ourselves at home and abroad: revitalizing our economy so 
that our people can live to their fullest capacities; strengthening the 
fabric of our communities and our families; putting our children first 
and giving them the values they need to do well in a difficult world; 
making our Government work for all the people, for it took all the 
people to win the Second World War and to keep this country going 
forward.
    In this uncertain world, we must also remain vigilant against new 
threats. Today American men and women in uniform stand sentry all around 
the globe, in Europe, in the Adriatic, in Korea, and on bases here at 
home. They are the finest, best trained, best motivated fighting force 
the world has ever known. And our highest commitment must be to ensure 
that they remain exactly that. If they must be sent in harm's way, we 
owe them the support they need and deserve.
    On this day, we honor those who died for our country. But let us 
also hold a special place for all of our living American veterans. We 
owe them a lasting debt of gratitude, and their well-being must be 
always the cause of our common concern. And let us recognize again our 
solemn obligation to find answers for those whose loved ones served but 
were never accounted for.
    A year ago today, just before I came to this hallowed place, I spoke 
at the Vietnam Memorial to honor those who died in that war. I was proud 
to be joined there by a remarkable man who became a friend of mine, 
Lewis Puller, Jr. This year, as virtually all of you must know, he rests 
here on this holy place. This morning when I got up I thought of Lew 
Puller and the countless heroes he has joined and the terrible 
sacrifices men and women had been willing to make for this great land.
    Every one of them, no matter what war they served in or what 
battlefield they died on, every one helped to build a nation we love. 
Let us remember them. Let us pray for their souls and those of their 
families and resolve to carry on the never-finished work of freedom.
    Thank you, and God bless you all.

[[Page 1189]]

Note: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery. 
In his remarks, he referred to World War II veteran Elizabeth P. 
McIntosh, and Katy Daley, master of ceremonies.


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[Page 1189-1190]
 
Monday, June 6, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 22
Pages 1177-1208
 
Week Ending Friday, June 3, 1994
 
Proclamation 6697--D-Day National Remembrance Day and Time for the 
National Observance of the Fiftieth Anniversary of World War II, 1994

May 30, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Fifty years ago on June 6, 1944, the largest armada of land, sea, 
and air forces ever assembled embarked on a great crusade across the 
English Channel to free the European continent of a tyranny that had 
taken hold and threatened to strangle the very freedoms we cherish most. 
Over 5,000 ships and 10,000 aircraft carried more than 130,000 soldiers, 
sailors, and airmen from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, 
Poland, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, 
Australia, Luxembourg, and Belgium to the shores of Normandy. More than 
9,000 Americans never returned.
    D-Day was considered crucial not only by the Allies, but also by the 
Axis powers. Field Marshall Irwin Rommel, commander of the enemy forces 
in the area, dubbed the first 24 hours as ``The Longest Day,'' referring 
to the fact that if the Allies were successful in establishing a 
beachhead, many more units would follow, overwhelming the enemy in the 
West. However, for the Allied forces, June 6, 1944, was truly ``The 
Longest Day'' for a different reason. For the men who landed on the 
beaches that fateful day, each minute of combat was like an eternity as 
they were continuously bombarded by the unyielding Nazi forces.
    But the enemy was unsuccessful, as the Allied forces had more than 
just their will to win urging them on. As defenders of justice, they 
were driven by the desire to restore the peace and freedom that the Nazi 
occupation had denied to millions of people. Anne Frank wrote of the 
impending invasion in her diary:
      ``It's no exaggeration to say that all Amsterdam, all Holland, yes 
      the whole west coast of Europe, right down to Spain, talks about 
      the invasion day and night, debates about it, and makes bets on it 
      and--hopes . . . The best part of the invasion is that I have the 
      feeling that friends are approaching. We have been oppressed by 
      those terrible Nazis for so long, they have their knives at our 
      throats, that the thought of friends and delivery fills me with 
      confidence.''
    For Anne Frank, that deliverance never came, for she died in a 
concentration camp just months before the end of the war. But millions 
of others were delivered from oppression and fear. Those who landed on 

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