Proclamation 4582—General Pulaski's Memorial Day, 1978

One hundred and ninety-nine years ago, the Polish patriot Casimir Pulaski gave his life fighting for freedom in the American Revolution.

General Pulaski, an exile from his native Poland, arrived in 1777 to join the Revolutionary Army. He fought courageously at Brandywine and in other battles, and he formed and commanded the famous cavalry unit, the Pulaski Legion, which fought nobly in the cause of American independence.

General Pulaski died on October 11, 1779 of wounds received in the Battle of Savannah two days earlier. Nearly two hundred years later we continue to pay tribute to him and to the millions of Americans of Polish descent who have played such an important part in founding our country, making it grow, and preserving its ideals.

Now, Therefore, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Wednesday, October 11, 1978, as General Pulaski's Memorial Day and I direct the appropriate Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on that day.

I also invite the people of the United States to honor the memory of General Pulaski by holding appropriate exercises and ceremonies in suitable places throughout our Nation.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and third.

JIMMY CARTER