Proclamation 3982—Day of Prayer

One of the cruelest tactics of the war in Vietnam is the Communists' refusal to identify all prisoners of war, to provide information about them and to permit their families to communicate with them regularly. This callous policy is in violation of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, to which North Vietnam acceded in 1957. And it is in contempt of established customs among civilized nations and of ordinary human decency.

The government of the United States of America is making and will continue to make every effort to alleviate the anxiety of the families of these prisoners by working to change this situation. The Congress by a House Concurrent Resolution of April 28, 1970, has resolved that Friday, May 1, 1970, be commemorated as a day for an appeal for international justice for all the American prisoners of war and servicemen missing in action in Southeast Asia and has requested the President to designate Sunday, May 3, 1970, as a National Day of Prayer for humane treatment and the safe return of these brave Americans.

Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Sunday, May 3, 1970, as a National Day of Prayer for all American Prisoners of War and Servicemen Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. I call upon all of the people of the United States to offer prayers on behalf of these men, to instill courage and perseverance in their hearts and the hearts of their loved ones and compassion in the hearts of their captors.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-fourth.

RICHARD NIXON