PROCLAMATION 6243—FEB. 1, 1991 105 STAT. 2481 By Public Law 98-144, the third Monday in January of each year has been designated as a legal public holiday. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Monday, January 21, 1991, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety- one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifteenth. GEORGE BUSH Proclamation 6243 of February 1, 1991 For a National Day of Prayer, February 3, 1991 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation As one Nation under God, we Americans are deeply mindful of both our dependence on the Almighty and our obligations as a people He has richly blessed. From our very beginnings as a Nation, we have relied upon God's strength and guidance in war and peace. Entrusted with the holy gift of freedom and allowed to prosper in its great light, we have a responsibility to serve as a beacon to the world—to use our strength and resources to help those suffering in the darkness of tyranny and repression. Today the United States is engaged in a great struggle to uphold the principles of national sovereignty and international order and to defend the lives and liberty of innocent people. It is an armed struggle we made every possible effort to avoid through extraordinary diplomatic efforts to resolve the matter peacefully, yet—given no choice by a ruthless dictator who would wield political and economic hegemony over other nations through force and terror—it is a struggle we wage with conviction and resolve. Our cause is moral and just. However confident of our purpose, however determined to prevail, we Americans continue to yearn for peace and for the safety of our service men and women in the Persian Gulf. With these great hopes in mind, I ask all Americans to unite in humble and contrite prayer to Almighty God. May it please our Heavenly Father to look upon this Nation, judging not our worthiness but our need, and to grant us His continued strength and guidance. May He watch over and support the courageous members of our Armed Forces, their loving families, as well as the forces of those nations that have joined the coaUtion to liberate Kuwait and to deter further Iraqi aggression. Today, as we turn our hearts toward Heaven, let us also pray especially for those brave and selfless military personnel who have earned their JKnal rest in the arms of God. Let us ask Him to strengthen and console their families, and let us also remember all those innocent civilians, wherever they may be, who have been affected by this conflict.
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