WHEREAS the Army of the United States is a mighty shield of our nation in war and the faithful servant of our people in time of peace; and
WHERAS the tasks entrusted to the Army are vital to the establishment of a durable peace; and
WHEREAS Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, 75th Congress, 1st Session, which was agreed to by the House of Representatives on March 16, 1937 (50 Stat. 1108), provides:
"That April 6 of each year be recognized by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America as Army Day, and that the President of the United States be requested, as Commander in Chief, to order military units throughout the United States to assist civic bodies in appropriate celebration to such extent as he may deem advisable; to issue a proclamation each year declaring April 6 as Army Day, and in such proclamations to invite the Governors of the various States to issue Army Day proclamations: Provided [underlined], That in the event April 6 falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be recognized as Army Day":
NOW, THEREFORE, I, HARRY S. TRUMAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, April 6, 1948, as Army Day, in order that we may accord appropriate recognition to our Army, which throughout our history has preserved our way of life by conspicuous skill and gallantry. I also invite the Governors of the several States to issue proclamations for the celebration of this day in such manner as to render suitable honor to the Army of the United States in all its component parts--the Organized Reserves, the National Guard, and the Regular Army--and to the millions of Army veterans who have returned to civilian pursuits.
In these critical times, I urge my fellow citizens to remember that an alert and ready America is a mighty power for peace and a beacon of hope to the peoples of the world who would be free. If our soldiers who are on duty in foreign lands are to represent American democracy proudly and successfully, they must know that they have the wholehearted support of our people. I therefore commend to all Americans appropriate and sympathetic observance of Army Day as a token of special honor to the soldiers and veterans of our Army, at home and in foreign lands.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
DONE at the City of Washington this twentieth-eighth day of February in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-second.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
By the President:
G. C. MARSHALL,
Secretary of State.