Proclamation 6028—Gold Star Mother's Day

On special occasions throughout the year, we Americans pay tribute to those individuals who have helped secure for us the blessings of peace and freedom. On Veterans Day, we salute all those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. On Memorial Day, we honor those service men and women who have lost their lives in the line of duty. There is, however, another important group of Americans that deserves our recognition and gratitude -- the American Gold Star Mothers.

The American Gold Star Mothers have made a tremendous sacrifice for the sake of our country, losing sons or daughters in armed conflicts. Anyone who has nurtured a growing child knoes that there can be no greater loss. The Gold Star Mothers have earned our Nation's admiration not only for the courage they have shown in the fact of such suffering, but also for their unwavering devotion to the principles upon which our Nation was founded.

When he first honored the Gold Star Mothers more than 50 years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt, citing the original resolution passed by the Congress, noted that "the American mother is the greatest source of the country's strength and inspiration." He also recited, "we honor ourselves and the mothers of America when we revere and give emphasis to the home as the fountainhead of the state." Today, we once again give due honor to those mothers whose children have given their lives in defense of the ideals of individual liberty and representative government. Whether they made the ultimate sacrifice for our country during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or, more recently, in places such as Grenada and Lebanon, our Nation remembers these yound men and women with solemn pride and heartfelt appreciation. To their mothers, we offer our deepest respect and thanks.

In order to convey our Nation's compassion and gratitude for the American Gold Star Mothers, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 (June 23, 1936), designated the last Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother's Day" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this occasion.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclim September 24, 1989, as Gold Star Mother's Day. I call upon all government officials to display the United States flag on government buildings on this day. I also urge the people of the United States to display the flag and to hold appropriate meetings in their homes, churches, synagogues, or other suitable places, as a public expression of the love, sorrow, and reverence that our Nation holds for American Gold Star Mothers.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hnd this twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourteenth.

GEORGE BUSH