Proclamation 7226—Gold Star Mother's Day, 1999

For generations, the brave men and women of our Armed Forces have answered our Nation's call to service. In the air, on the sea, and across the world's battlefields, they have fought with valor and determination so that we might continue to live in freedom. The blessings of liberty and peace we know today have been paid for with the lives of those who never returned home.

The Gold Star Mothers of America know the price of freedom all too well. They have experienced one of life's greatest joys in becoming a parent and have endured one of life's greatest sorrows in losing a son or daughter. The spirit of sacrifices made by our fallen warriors lives on in the hearts of our Gold Star Mothers.

Their sacrifice lives on as well in the work Gold Star Mothers perform in communities throughout our country, working with disabled veterans and their families, nurturing patriotism in a new generation of young Americans, reaching out to others who have lost a child in the service of our Nation, and ensuring that the contributions of their own sons and daughters are never forgotten. The generous and compassionate work of Gold Star Mothers is a powerful legacy of service that they carry on in loving memory of their children.

We have a profound obligation to honor the service and sacrifice of these remarkable women as we honor their children. That is why the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936 (49 Stat. 1895), has designated the last Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother's Day" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 26, 1999, as Gold Star Mother's Day. I call on all government officials to display the United States flag on government buildings on this day. I also urge the American people to display the flag to hold appropriate meetings in their homes, places of worship, or other suitable places as a public expression of the sympathy and the respect that our Nation holds for its Gold Star Mothers.

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

WILLIAM J. CLINTON