Proclamation 6300—Flag Day and National Flag Week, 1991

WE call her "Old Glory," but the spendor of our flag is ever new, and the principles for which she stands are timeless. When adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 197787, our flag became the symbol of a Nation that was founded on the conviction "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Throughout our Nation's history, brave and selfless Americans have labored and sacrificed to defend these ideals, and in every generation they have given renewed meaning to our flag.

Earlier in this century President Woodrow Wilson noted that the American flag "is the embodiment not of a sentiment but of a history . . . ." Indeed this is what sets the flag apart from other American symbols -- no other standard has been carried into battle by generations of American heroes; no other banner recalls the extraordinary achievements of our farmers and workers; and no other emblem symbolizes to more people what America means to the world. For millions of people around the globe, the Stars and Stripes has been a symbol of freedom, strenth, and opportunity -- a sign of safe haven and hope for the future. For countless others, it has been a sign of help and comfort -- a symbol of the traditional generosity and compassion of the American people toward the poor, the hungry, and the dispossessed.

Although our annual observance of Flag Day is rich in emotion, it is not an exercise in mere sentimentalism. It is a day of proud yet meaningful relfection on our national experience and purpose -- an occasion made all the more significant this year by the 200th anniversary of our Bill of Rights and by the outstanding performance of our troops in the liberation of Kuwait.

To commemorate the adoption of our flag, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved August 3, 1949 (63 Stat. 492), designated June 14 of each year as Flag day and requested the President to issue an annual proclamation calling for its observance and for the display of the flag of the United States on all government buildings. The Congress also requested the President, by joint resolution approved June 9, 1966 (80 Stawt. 194), to issue annually a proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as National Flag Week and calling upon all citizens of the United States to display the flag during that week.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 14, 1991, as Flag Day, and the week beginning June 9, 1991, as National Flag Week. I direct the appropriate officials of the government to display the flag of the United States on all government buildings during that week. I urge all Americans to observe Flag Day, June 14, and Flag Week by flying the Stars and Stripes from their homes and other suitable places.

I also urge the American people to celebrate those days from Flag Day through Independence Day, also set aside by the Congress (89 Stat. 211) as a time to honor America, by having public gatherings and activities at which they can honor their country in an appropriate manner, including publicly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of Amerca.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of June, 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