Proclamation 3056—Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1954

Whereas May thirtieth has long been a day of public memorial, dedicated to paying homage to our friends and relatives who gave their lives in war for their country and for the cause of peace; and

Whereas in memory of their sacrifices in this noble cause, we should keep faith with our heroic dead by humbly and devoutly supplicating Almighty God for guidance in our efforts to achieve a peaceful world; and

Whereas in manifestation of our longing for concord among nations, the Congress provided, in a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, that Memorial Day should be set aside as a day for Nationwide prayer for permanent peace, and requested the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day in that manner:

Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, Sunday, the thirtieth of May, 1954, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at eleven o'clock in the morning as a period in which the people of the United States may solemnly join in prayer for God's help in reaching the coveted goal of amity among nations.

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 27th day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-eighth.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

By the President:

JOHN FOSTER DULLES,

Secretary of State