Proclamation 5045—National Defense Transportation Day and National Transportation Week, 1983

From Maine to Hawaii, from the Alaskan border to the Gulf of Mexico, America is a land unified, strengthened, and enriched by transportation. We enjoy a mobility unparalleled anywhere in the world. Our transportation systems—land, water, and air-enable us to work where we choose, travel where we please, and ship the products of our farms and factories across the country and around the world.

Through the years, transportation developments have paced the growth and progress of our Nation, led to innovations in other industries, contributed significantly to the expansion of our country, and strengthened our defense and the vitality of our economy. Transportation has become one of America's greatest and most valued assets, and the people of the transportation industries are an essential segment of our society.

The Nation has experienced enormous progress in all forms of transportation, from the earliest Erie Canal boats to today's vast inland waterway system; from the clipper ship to the container ship; from yesterday's primitive Lancaster turnpike to our modern 42,000-mile network of interstate highways; from the ribbons of rail that fused a continent to a national rail complex that carries one-and-a-half billion tons of cargo a year; from the first fledgling flight at Kitty Hawk to a national system serving 300 million passengers and hundreds of thousands of general aviation flyers a year; from horse-drawn transit vehicles to today's sleek urban rail cars and buses. America and its transportation industries have grown and prospered, providing employment, security, safe and efficient mobility for all Americans, and opening avenues to the future with such visionary projects as NASA's space shuttle program.

In recognition of the importance of transportation in America and to honor the millions of Americans who serve and supply our transportation needs, the Congress, by joint resolution approved May 16, 1957, has requested that the third Friday in May of each year be designated National Defense Transportation Day; and by a joint resolution approved May 14, 1962, that the week in which that Friday falls be proclaimed National Transportation Week.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Friday, May 20, 1983 as National Defense Transportation Day and the week beginning May 15, 1983 as National Transportation Week, and I urge the people of the United States to observe this occasion with appropriate ceremonies which will give full recognition to the importance of our transportation system and the maintenance of its facilities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventh.

RONALD REAGAN