Memorial Day 2019: Honor | Remembrance | Reflection

In honor of our fallen military brothers and sisters this Memorial Day… may we never forget what was given for our freedom!

Memorial Day: Honor | Remembrance | Reflection

With a constant barrage of commercials and ads touting Memorial Day Weekend discounts on cars, cheap furniture and more, it’s easy for many Americans to lose our understanding for the true reason we observe Memorial Day.  And while it’s nice to BBQ, enjoy a 3-day weekend and get excited about the unofficial start of summer, simply put: it’s a time to honor, to remember and to reflect!

If you do anything this weekend, please take time to reflect on the real reason we observe Memorial Day and honor all the brave men and women who paid and made the ultimate sacrifice to make the United States the land of the free and the home of the brave (land of the free because OF the brave)!

Whether it takes seeing an American Flag, a military sticker on a car or watching our good friends Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise co-host the National Memorial Day Concert, please take a moment to show yourself (and those around you), that you have not forgotten those men and women in military uniform who died while fighting for our great country!

 

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In accordance with Flag Code, Title 4 U.S.C. § 7 (m), the United States flag is to be displayed at half-staff from sunrise until noon in honor of Memorial Day on Monday, May 27th to pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms our country enjoys.

Additionally, title 36 U.S.C. § 116, requests the president of the United States issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe Memorial Day by praying for a permanent peace, according to their individual religious faith and call on the media to join in observing Memorial Day and the period of prayer. (see below).

Proclamation on Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2019

Whether on the battlefields of Bunker Hill, on the beaches of Normandy, in the jungles of Vietnam, or in the mountains and deserts of the Middle East, brave Americans of every generation have given their last full measure of devotion in defense of our country, our liberty, and our founding ideals.  On Memorial Day, we humbly honor these incredible patriots and firmly renew our abiding commitment to uphold the principles for which they laid down their lives.

As a free people, we have a sacred duty to remember the courageous warriors who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that our great country would endure.  It is our responsibility to strive to ensure that their noble acts of dedication to our country and the cause of freedom were not in vain and to comfort the families they have left behind, who bear the heartbreak of their loss.  We must ensure that the light of our Republic, and all for which these most honorable Americans willingly died, continues to shine forth brightly into the world.  As President Lincoln said in 1863 during the dedication of the Gettysburg National Military Cemetery:  “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”

As we approach the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we proudly commemorate those heroic and honorable patriots who gave their all for the cause of freedom during some of history’s darkest hours.  Thousands of selfless members of our Armed Forces perished on the beaches of Normandy.  They bravely gave their lives to pave the way for the Allied liberation of Europe and ultimately victory over the forces of evil.  Their historic sacrifices and achievements secured the future of humanity and proved America’s strength in defending freedom and defeating the enemies of civilization.

Those who rest in the hallowed grounds of our country’s national cemeteries laid their lives upon the altar of freedom.  Today, as we unite in eternal gratitude for the sacrifices of these extraordinary Americans, let us also offer a prayer for lasting peace.  Let us renew our steadfast resolve to work toward a peaceful future, in which the horrors of war are a distant memory and our families, our communities, and our Nation need no longer confront the sorrow and pain of losing our beloved sons and daughters.

In honor and recognition of all of our fallen heroes, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer.  The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 27, 2019, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer.

I further ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day.

I also request the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control.  I also request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third.

DONALD J. TRUMP