Proclamation 3096—Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1955

Whereas Memorial Day each year serves as a solemn reminder of the scourge of war and its bitter aftermath of sorrow; and

Whereas this day has traditionally been devoted to paying homage to loved ones who lie in hallowed graves throughout the land, having sacrificed their lives that war might end; and

Whereas in tribute to these silent dead it is fitting that we lift up our voices together in supplication to Almighty God for wisdom in our search for an enduring peace; and

Whereas the Congress, in a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, provided that Memorial Day should be set aside as a day of 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, Monday, the thirtieth of May, 1955, as a day of Nation-wide 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 this Nation may unite in beseeching God to guide the nations of the world into the ways of peace.

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 twenty-fourth day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-ninth.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

By the President:

JOHN FOSTER DULLES,

Secretary of State