Proclamation 2736—John Paul Jones Bicentennial Day, 1947

Whereas the sixth of July nineteen hundred and forty-seven is the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of John Paul Jones at Arbigland in the parish of Kirkbean, Kirkcudbright, Scotland; and

Whereas John Paul Jones drew his sword in the struggle of the American colonies for freedom and the rights of man; and

Whereas, on February the fourteenth in the year seventeen hundred and seventy-eight, in the United States Frigate Ranger, John Paul Jones received from Admiral La Motte Piquet, commander of the French squadron of Louis XVI, the first salute to the Stars and Stripes from a foreign power; and

Whereas John Paul Jones was the first American Naval officer to be awarded a gold medal by the Continental Congress for fearlessness and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds and, in the words of the Congress, "for the zeal, prudence, and intrepidity, with which he hath supported the honor of the American Flag"; and

Whereas he gave our Navy its earliest traditions of heroism and victory which have fostered the high morale and initiative demonstrated throughout our history by the men of our fighting forces:

Now, Therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim and designate the sixth day of July nineteen hundred and forty-seven as John Paul Jones Bicentennial Day, and I direct the appropriate officials of the Federal Government to have the flag of the United States displayed from public buildings on that day. I also request State and local officials, civic organizations, and interested individuals to observe the day with ceremonies which will reflect honor upon the career of this Naval hero and strengthen the pride of the American people in their Navy and its glorious achievements.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this second day of July in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-first.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

By the President:

G. C. MARSHALL,

Secretary of State.