Proclamation 5715 -- General Pulaski Memorial Day, 1987

October 1, 1987

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The American people proudly and gratefully observe every October 11 in memory of General Casimir Pulaski, because on that date in 1779 this young Polish count and cavalry officer, wounded two days before while leading a charge during the siege of Savannah, gave his life for our country.

Before casting his lot with America, Casimir Pulaski had fought bravely against tyranny and foreign domination in his beloved Poland and had been forced into exile. He and other Polish freedom fighters well understood that humanity's battle for liberty and self-government is indivisible around the world; with the immortal cry, ``For Your Freedom and Ours,'' they went forth to many nations in support of freedom, justice, independence, and individual rights. These ideals are forever part of Poland's heritage; they are dear to the Polish people, and this devotion continues to inspire America and the rest of the world.

The freedoms for which General Pulaski fought and died -- the freedoms he helped America win -- have not yet been realized in many parts of the globe. The United States of America will always champion religious, political and economic liberty, tolerance, and human rights around the world. Wherever mankind's fight for freedom continues, there stands the spirit of Pulaski and there stands the hope, the commitment, and the help of the United States -- ``For Your Freedom and Ours.''

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, 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 Sunday, October 11, 1987, as General Pulaski Memorial Day, and I direct the appropriate government officials to display the flag of the United States on all government buildings on that day. In addition, I encourage the people of the United States to commemorate this occasion as appropriate throughout our land.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twelfth.

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:33 p.m., October 2, 1987]

Note: The proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on October 2.