Proclamation 2719—Army Day and Army Week, 1947

Whereas the Army of the United States is a bulwark of our country's strength in time of peril and the faithful guardian of our dearly-bought liberty in time of peace, and has since the inception of this Nation stood between out freedom-loving people and all aggressors; and

Whereas the soldiers of our Army continue in active service as loyal servants of our democracy, whose purpose is to insure the establishment of justice, tranquility, and an enduring peace; and

Whereas Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, 75th Congress, 1st Session, which was agreed to by the House of Representatives on March 16, 1937 (50 Stat. 1108), provides:

"That April 6 of each year be recognized by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America as Army Day, and that the President of the United States be requested, as Commander in Chief, to order military units throughout the United States to assist civic bodies in appropriate celebration to such extent as he may deem advisable; to issue a proclamation each year declaring April 6 as Army Day, and in such proclamations to invite the Governors of the various States to issue Army Day proclamations: Provided, That in the event April 6 falls on Sunday, the following Monday shall be recognized as Army Day":

Now, Therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, in order that we may give special recognition to our Army, whose soldiers have gallantly secured and guarded our freedom since the founding of the Republic and have heroically sacrificed to bring to the world a lasting peace founded upon justice to all mankind, do hereby proclaim Monday, April 7, 1947, as Army Day, and encourage the observance of the week beginning April 6 and ending April 12, 1947, as Army Week; and I invite the Governors of the several States to issue proclamations for the celebration of this day and this week in such manner as to render appropriate honor to the Army of the United States.

I also remind our citizens that our Army, charged with the responsibility of defending the United States and our territorial possessions and of promoting the firm establishment of peace and good order in the territories of our defeated enemies, can discharge these duties only with the firm support of our people. I therefore urge my fellow countrymen to be mindful of the Army's needs, to the end that our soldiers may not lack the means to perform effectively their continuing tasks and that the hardships of military service in foreign lands may be alleviated in every way possible. There is no means by which we can better honor our heroic dead than by our support of their living comrades who carry on the mission they so nobly advanced.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this 7th day of March in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-first.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

By the President:

DEAN ACHESON,

Acting Secretary of State.