Proclamation 5917 --
National Sir Winston Churchill Recognition Week, 1988
November 28, 1988
By
the President of the United States of
America
A
Proclamation
Soldier,
author, orator, and statesman, Sir Winston Churchill was one of the towering
figures of our century. A man of powerful intellect and deep personal courage,
his fierce dedication to freedom changed the course of modern history and left
his countrymen, and people everywhere, with an immortal example of the
invincibility of the human spirit.
Sir
Winston's unflagging pursuit of his vision of a world freed from the threat of
tyranny rallied his countrymen to their ``finest hour.'' In the darkest days of
World War II, his eloquent speeches and his tenacious character spurred the
citizens and fighting men on both sides of the Atlantic to continue their
struggle until victory was finally won.
The
qualities that stood England in good stead during
the War had been formed many years earlier, during Churchill's military service
in Cuba, India, Egypt, and South Africa, where he wrote the
brilliant dispatches and accounts that first brought him to the attention of
the domestic populace. These writings, plus additional biographical and
autobiographical works, were the precursors of his celebrated multi-volume
history of World War II and the four-volume A History of the English-Speaking
Peoples. Both his actions and his writings bear witness to the seriousness with
which he took Santayana's observation that those who cannot remember the past
are condemned to repeat it. For his achievements in the world of letters, he
was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1953.
The
close ties that Churchill forever championed between the people of the United States and Great Britain are evident in the
details of his personal biography. He was the son of Randolph Churchill, a
British citizen, and Jennie Churchill, an American. In his correspondence and
books, in his speeches and his travels, he was a consistent and forceful
advocate of transatlantic cooperation and unity. He saw our nations as joined
by historic destiny in the struggle to prevent the drawing down of the curtain
of tyranny over all mankind. On April 9, 1963, 2 years before his
death, the United States recognized the
extraordinary contributions of Sir Winston Churchill and granted him honorary
American citizenship. It is wholly fitting that our Nation pause
again to honor a great friend of liberty for whom no final word of praise and
thanks may ever be written.
In
honor of Sir Winston Churchill, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 340,
has designated November 27 through December 3, 1988, as ``National Sir Winston
Churchill Recognition Week'' and authorized and requested the President to
issue a proclamation in observance of that week.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim November 27 through December
3, 1988,
as National Sir Winston Churchill Recognition Week and call upon the people of
the United States to observe this week
with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of
November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the
Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and thirteenth.
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register, 10:07 a.m., November 29, 1988]