USA — Obama Proclaims Korean War Armistice Day

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2010 — Pres­i­dent Barack Oba­ma has issued a procla­ma­tion declar­ing July 27 Nation­al Kore­an War Vet­er­ans Armistice Day, to mark the sign­ing of the Mil­i­tary Armistice Agree­ment at Pan­munjom.

“As we com­mem­o­rate the 60th anniver­sary of the out­break of the Kore­an War and the even­tu­al con­clu­sion of hos­til­i­ties at Pan­munjom, let us raise our flags high to hon­or the ser­vice and val­or of our vet­er­ans, to reflect on the prin­ci­ples for which they fought, and to reaf­firm the unshake­able bond between South Korea and our Nation,” Oba­ma said. The entire procla­ma­tion appears below: 

“Today we cel­e­brate the sign­ing of the Mil­i­tary Armistice Agree­ment at Pan­munjom and we hon­or our ser­vice­mem­bers who fought and died for free­dom and democ­ra­cy in the Kore­an War. This year marks the 60th anniver­sary of the start of the Kore­an War and the birth of an endur­ing friend­ship between the Unit­ed States and the Repub­lic of Korea that is stronger today than ever before. Our alliance is root­ed in shared sac­ri­fice, com­mon val­ues, mutu­al inter­est, and respect, and this part­ner­ship is vital to peace and sta­bil­i­ty in Asia and the world. 

“Since our Nation’s found­ing, the Unit­ed States has relied on our Armed Forces to ensure our safe­ty and secu­ri­ty at home, and to pro­tect lives and lib­er­ties around the globe. When Com­mu­nist armies poured across the 38th par­al­lel, threat­en­ing the very sur­vival of South Korea, Amer­i­can troops braved unfor­giv­ing con­di­tions and ral­lied to the young republic’s defense. Tens of thou­sands of our Nation’s ser­vice­mem­bers lost their lives, and many more were wound­ed, declared miss­ing in action, or tak­en as pris­on­ers of war. The coura­geous ser­vice and ulti­mate sac­ri­fices of these patri­ots and our allied com­bat­ants safe­guard­ed a free gov­ern­ment and vibrant econ­o­my in South Korea, forg­ing a bond between our peo­ple that stands strong today. 

“As we com­mem­o­rate the 60th anniver­sary of the out­break of the Kore­an War and the even­tu­al con­clu­sion of hos­til­i­ties at Pan­munjom, let us raise our flags high to hon­or the ser­vice and val­or of our vet­er­ans, to reflect on the prin­ci­ples for which they fought, and to reaf­firm the unshake­able bond between South Korea and our Nation. 

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 July 27, 2010, as Nation­al Kore­an War Vet­er­ans Armistice Day. I call upon all Amer­i­cans to observe this day with appro­pri­ate cer­e­monies and activ­i­ties that hon­or our dis­tin­guished Kore­an War veterans. 

“IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have here­un­to set my hand this twen­ty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thou­sand ten, and of the Inde­pen­dence of the Unit­ed States of Amer­i­ca the two hun­dred and thir­ty-fifth. BARACK OBAMA” 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

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