Proclamation 5090—General Pulaski Memorial Day, 1983

On October 11, 1779, the Polish and American patriot Casimir Pulaski was mortally wounded while leading his troops in battle at Savannah, Georgia. Pulaski died fighting in our American Revolution so that we could live as a free and independent Nation.

It is fitting that we should pay tribute to this martyr for freedom and that free men and women everywhere should take this occasion to rededicate themselves to the principles for which Pulaski gave his life. The power of the ideal of freedom remains vital, both in Pulaski's homeland and in his adopted country. In paying tribute to Casimir Pulaski, we pay tribute as well to all those Poles who have sacrificed themselves over the years for their common goal: the freedom of that heroic nation.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the supreme sacrifice General Pulaski made for his adopted country, do hereby designate October 11, 1983, as General Pulaski Memorial Day, and I direct the appropriate Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on that day.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of Sept., in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eightythree, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.

RONALD REAGAN