Proclamation 3740—Veterans Day, 1966

Since the birth of the Republic, more than half a million Americans have died for their country on the field of battle. Millions more have placed themselves as a living shield between their country and her enemies, emerging unscathed through the benevolence of a merciful Creator.

We have set aside one day of the year to honor the dead and the living whose actions have testified to their courage and devotion to country. On Veterans Day, we honor their heroism, we give thanks for their sacrifice, and we share—if only briefly and inadequately—the grief of loved ones who survive them.

We have preserved our freedom only through the continued willingness of brave men and women to risk the sacrifice of their lives for its sake.

We honor those who wore that uniform in days past, and those who wear it today. Especially this year our thoughts go out to the hundreds of thousands who are resisting the forces of aggression and violence in Vietnam.

We can never repay our debt to them, for it is beyond price. But we can show our recognition of the gift they have made their country. We can pay tribute to the nobility of man, as it is expressed in a soldier's courage.

To this end, the Congress has designated the eleventh of November as a legal holiday to be known as Veterans Day and has dedicated it to the cause of world peace (Act of May 13, 1938, 52 Stat. 351, as amended (5 U.S.C. 87a)).

Now, Therefore, I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States of America, call upon the people of our Nation to observe Friday, November 11, 1966, as Veterans Day, commemorating the service of our veterans of past wars, and pledging our full support to the men and women of today who are continuing the struggle for freedom and peace for which so many have fought and died. Let us join with fervor in this observance.

I direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag of the United States on all public buildings on this day. In order that this day may be marked and observed in accordance with its full purpose and meaning, I request officials of the Federal, State, and local governments, and civic and patriotic organizations, to give their enthusiastic leadership and support to appropriate public ceremonies throughout the Nation.

I also urge all citizens, and particularly students in our schools, colleges, and universities, and other younger citizens whose contemporaries now continue to support at great personal risk the ideals of freedom and peace, to take part in these ceremonies to demonstrate to all the world their support of those who fight today, as well as their homage to those who have borne the battle for these ideals in previous times.

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 31st day of August in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninety-first.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON