By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
International commerce and the ships which make it possible have contributed immeasurably to America's greatness. The sea and ships are an integral part of this country's past, present, and future.
In war and peace merchant ships and merchant seamen have served us well. The forms of ships may change-from the tiny sailing ship Mayflower, to the nuclear ship Savannah and the automated liners of tomorrow but their purpose remains the same: to carry people and goods between nations in peaceful commerce or, if need be, to carry the men and equipment needed to protect our interests and our friends overseas.
We must be ever mindful of the state of our merchant fleet. A balanced, economical, and efficient merchant fleet, manned by well-trained and skilled seamen, is a vital national resource. The importance of American merchant seapower is underscored by our burgeoning trade, and the increasing demands for ocean transportation that result. The creation and maintenance of a strong and competitive fleet to meet these demands is a complex task requiring the best efforts of government, management, and labor.
I take particular pleasure in noting that this year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the establishment of the Maritime Administration in the Department of Commerce. That agency has the responsibility for insuring that the United States possesses a merchant marine adequate to meet our economic and military requirements for an American-flag merchant marine. It has served us well.
That the American people might be constantly reminded of the importance of the merchant marine in our national life, the Congress in 1933 designated May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day and requested the President to issue a proclamation annually calling for the observance of that day. On that day in 1819 the SS Savanna set forth for the first transoceanic voyage of any steamship.
Maritime Day should serve to remind all Americans that the maintenance of our merchant marine cannot be left to the Government alone, and that our fleet must ultimately be supported by Americans who ship their cargo on American ships.
Now, Therefore, I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States of America, do hereby urge the people of the United States to honor our American Merchant Marine on Saturday, May 22, 1965, by displaying the flag of the United States at their homes and other suitable places, and I request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on that day in tribute to the American Merchant Marme.
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 March in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-ninth.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
By the President:
DEAN RUSK,
Secretary of State.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Proclamation 3646—National Maritime Day, 1965 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/275821