National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, 2024
| Published date | 11 April 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-07844 |
| Citation | 89 FR 25747 |
| Court | Executive Office Of The President |
| Section | Presidential Documents |
Presidential Documents
25747
Federal Register
Vol. 89, No. 71
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Title 3—
The President
Proclamation 10726 of April 8, 2024
National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On this day, we honor the more than half a million brave patriots who
sacrificed their freedom as prisoners of war—risking their own safety for
the safety of their fellow Americans. We recommit to fulfilling our country’s
one truly sacred obligation: to prepare and equip those we send into harm’s
way and to care for them and their families when they return home and
when they do not.
Last September, I visited a memorial in Hanoi for my friend, former United
States Senator John McCain, who had been imprisoned there for five and
a half years when he was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. I reflected
on the unfathomable conditions and pain that he and so many others have
endured as prisoners of war. It was a solemn reminder of the grave costs
of war and the immense sacrifices American service members are willing
to make to defend our Nation. They have always embodied the highest
expectations of our democracy—daring all and risking all so that our country
remains free and our people remain safe. We owe them and their families,
caregivers, and survivors a debt of gratitude we can never fully repay but
will never cease trying to fulfill.
Today, and every day, we recommit to this vow. We honor the unbending
courage and unshakable devotion of our former prisoners of war. We reaffirm
our commitment to bringing home all those still missing or unaccounted
for. We pledge to keep faith in all these heroes and their families—just
as they have kept ultimate faith in our Nation.
May God bless our former prisoners of war and their families, caregivers,
and survivors—and may God protect our troops.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 9, 2024, as
National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day. I call upon Americans
to observe this day by honoring the service and sacrifice of all former
prisoners of war as our Nation expresses its eternal gratitude for their service.
I also call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and organiza-
tions to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
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25748
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 71 / Thursday, April 11, 2024 / Presidential Documents
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day
of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
[FR Doc. 2024–07844
Filed 4–10–24; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395–F4–P
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