Proclamation 4357—Armed Forces Day

For nearly two hundred years, in times of war and peace, the Armed Forces of the United States have served the Nation with courage and devotion. In this country, and throughout the world, those who wear the uniforms of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are respected for their patriotic service.

It is fitting and proper that we set aside one day each year to pay tribute to these men and women.

Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, continuing the precedent of my five immediate predecessors in this Office, do hereby proclaim the third Saturday of each May as Armed Forces Day.

I direct the Secretary of Defense on behalf of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps, and the Secretary of Transportation on behalf of the Coast Guard, to plan for appropriate observances each year, with the Secretary of Defense responsible for soliciting the participation and cooperation of civil authorities and private citizens.

I invite the Governors of the States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and other areas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, to provide for the observance of Armed Forces Day within their jurisdiction each year in an appropriate manner designed to enhance public understanding and appreciation of the Armed Forces of the United States.

I also invite national and local veterans, civic and other organizations to provide for the observance of Armed Forces Day each year.

I call upon my fellow Americans not only to display proudly the flag of the United States at their homes on Armed Forces Day, but also to avail themselves of the opportunity to further their knowledge of our Defense Establishment and of the men and women who constitute our real national strength, by attending and participating in the local observances of the day.

Proclamation No. 4276 of March 21, 1974, is hereby superseded.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of March in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-ninth.

GERALD R. FORD