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PROCLAMATIONS—MAR. 5, 1957 ARMED
March 6, 1957 [No. 3172]
BY THE P R E S I D E N T
[71 STAT.
FORCES D A Y
OF THE UNITED
STATES O F AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
61 Stat. 495. 5 USC 171 note.
Armed Forces Day, 1957.
WHEREAS the armed forces of the United States manifest our strength and our determination to maintain our national freedom and security; and WHEREAS members of the active and reserve components of the armed forces of the United States are engaged in programs designed to demonstrate to all the peoples of the world our purpose to upnold and defend the free way of life; and WHEREAS the year 1957 marks the tenth anniversary of the unification of our armed forces under the National Security Act of 1947; and WHEREAS it is appropriate that we dedicate one day each year to paying special tribute to the members of our armed forces, and that on such day the armed forces demonstrate to the people of the Nation their operations and capabilities; and WHEREAS it is also appropriate that the public be invited to visit on that day, within the limits permitted by security requirements, the posts, camps, stations, bases, vessels, armories, reserve centers, and other facilities: NOW, THEREFORE, I, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States, do hereby proclaim the third Saturday of May in 1957 and the third Saturday of May in each succeeding year as Armed Forces D a y; and I direct the Secretary of Defense on behalf of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and the Secretary of the Treasury on behalf of the Coast Guard, to mark that day each year with appropriate ceremonies, to arrange for demonstrations and displays at armed-forces installations, to invite participation by representatives of all religious faiths in such ceremonies, in order that the interdependence of the deep and abiding religious faith of Americans and our security may be recognized, and to work hand in hand with civil authorities in arranging other supporting activities. I further direct the Secretary of Defense, as my personal representative, to assume the responsibility for initiating, formulating, and supervising policies and procedures in keeping with this proclamation. I also invite the Governors of the States, Territories, and possessions of the United States to provide for the observance of Armed Forces Day each year in such manner as will afford an opportunity for the people of the United States to become better acquainted with their armed forces, both active and reserve. And I call upon my fellow citizens to display the flag of the United States on Armed Forces Day, in recognition of the sacrifice and devotion to duty of the members of the armed forces. I N WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. D O N E at the City of Washington this fifth day of March in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-seven, and [SEAL] of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-first. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER By the President: JOHN FOSTER D U L L E S,
Secretary of State.
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