Proclamation 6263—National Medal of Honor Day, 1991

While all of America's combat veterans have earned our abiding respect and gratitude, we honor in a special way those who have demonstrated exceptional heroism on the field of battle. The Medal of Honor, our country's highest military decoration, has been awarded to 3,440 Americans since the Civil War. During times of armed conflict, these individuals distinguished themselves through brave and selfless actions that were far above and beyond the call of duty.

The Medal of Honor is a poignant reminder of the tremendous price that some Americans have been willing to pay to protect the lives and liberty of others. Indeed, the courageous and loving sacrifices of our Medal of Honor recipients tell us a great deal about the value of freedom and the principles on which this Nation is founded.

A number of those principles were recently at stake in the Persian Gulf region. We Americans are very proud of the U.S. service men and women who have taken part in the successful international effort to liberate Kuwait and to deter unprovoked aggression. They bravely answered the call to duty, knowing full well the costs it might entail, and each of them embodies the determined spirit of our Nation's combat veterans.

In his stirring poem, "A Psalm of Life," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote: "Lives of great men all remind us/we can make our lives sublime/and, departing, leave behind us/footprints on the sands of time." The U.S. troops who recently served along the sands and off the shores of Saudi Arabia follow a long line of Americans who have boldly stepped forward to defend the universal cause of freedom. Today, as we offer a special tribute to our most distinguished combat veterans, the Medal of Honor recipients, we can be thankful for the extraordinary example they set.

The Congress, by Public Law 101-564, has designated March 25, 1991, as "National Medal of Honor Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 25, 1991, as National Medal of Honor Day, a day dedicated to all Medal of Honor recipients. I urge all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of March, 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