Proclamation 6278—Loyalty Day, 1991

Most of us know and prize loyalty as the gift of a longtime friend or colleague. It is the gift of abiding trust and support; bestowed freely, it withstands both the test of time and the sudden, sometimes fierce, trials that accompany every human life.

In the lives of nations as well as individuals, loyalty is marked by confidence in its object and by kinship to the virtues of faith, perseverance, industry, and self-sacrifice. This Nation's great experiment in self-government has endured for more than 200 years because generations of brave and selfless Americans have believed in freedom and have labored and sacrificed to preserve it.

On this Loyalty Day, we are especially mindful of our Nation's service members, past and present. In the spirit of our Founding Fathers, who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in support of America's independence, these individuals have made a solemn commitment to defend the rights of others. Their loyalty to the ideals on which this Nation is founded has been proved on battlefields around the globe. Indeed, those American military personnel who recently took part in Operation Desert Storm -- whether providing invaluable support here at home or serving along the sands and off the shores of Saudi Arabia -- left no doubts about the depth of their devotion to freedom. We are grateful to them and to all of America's service members and veterans.

Although we take just pride in the courage and patriotism of our Armed Forces, we know that loyalty and love of country are proved not only in times of conflict and peril but also in the routine trials of everyday life. Each day, across America, millions of unsung heroes and heroines demonstrate their appreciation for the blessings of liberty and their resolve to help preserve our way of life. These loyal Americans are civic association members who work to promote patriotism and good citizenship; they are judges, police officers, and other public officials who honor their vow to uphold the Constitution; and they are volunteers who help to carry on the American tradition of caring through community service. Parents who labor to build strong, loving homes and youngsters who work hard in school to learn more about our American heritage -- they, too, help to keep the United States a good, free, and prosperous Nation.

On this Loyalty Day, observed in the 200th year of our Bill of Rights, let us reflect on the profound faith and convictions that inspired that great document. Let us renew our loyalty to the vision of this country's Founders, so that the United States might always be -- as it is written in our Pledge of Allegiance -- "one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

To foster loyalty to principles on which the United States is founded, the Congress, by joint resolution approved July 18, 1958 (72 Stat. 369; 36 U.S.C.), has designated May 1 of each year as "Loyalty Day."

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 1991, as Loyalty Day. I call upon all Americans to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities in their homes, in schools, and in other suitable places. I also call upon all Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings and grounds on that day.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifteenth.

GEORGE BUSH