President Donald Trump on Wednesday proclaimed Memorial Day 2017 as a day of "prayer for permanent peace."
The office of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer released Trump's proclamation that aimed to serve as a solemn reminder that freedom is never free and Memorial Day should be a moment of reflecting the Americans who sacrificed their lives during multiple wars.
"This year, we commemorate the centennial anniversary of America's entry into World War I. More than 4.7 million Americans served during The Great War, representing more than 25 percent of the American male population between the ages of 18 and 31 at the time," Trump said.
"We remember the more than 100,000 Americans who sacrificed their lives during 'The War to End All Wars,' and who left behind countless family members and loved ones," he continued. "We pause again to pray for the souls of those heroes who, one century ago, never returned home after helping to restore peace in Europe."
Trump went on to say that Memorial Day is a day for Americans to honor the final resting places of more than one million men and women who sacrificed their lives for the nation by "decorating their graves with the stars and stripes, as generations have done since 1868. "
Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), requested that Trump 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."
By Public Law 106-579, Congress also designated 3 p.m. local time as the observance time for all Americans to recognize the National Moment of Remembrance.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 29, 2017, 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 urge the press, radio, television, and all other information media to cooperate in this observance.
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 that 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.