Congress, by a joint resolution approved on May 11, 1950, as amended (64 Stat. 158), has requested the President to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated the minute beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance.However the President's Radio Address on Saturday that focused entirely on Memorial Day was entirely a secular tribute to America's war dead.
As Melissa Rogers has pointed out, a new church-state issue has emerged as Task Force Patriot USA, an evangelical Christian group, for the first time became a sponsor of the annual Memorial Day weekend Salute to the Troops at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia. Originally this year's Salute was billed as an official U.S. Air Force 60th Anniversary event. However, after objections were raised by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Air Force issued a statement saying it is not a sponsor of the event. It said that after becoming aware of the religious nature of scheduled activities, it began taking steps to avoid the appearance of endorsement or preferential treatment of any religious faith. (Washington Post).
The Air Force will still do jet fly-overs of the park this weekend, but will only do two of them instead of the originally scheduled nine, and will not schedule them to coincide with religious events at the Salute. (Atlanta Journal Constitution.) The Army's Silver Wing Parachute Team is no longer participating in the event at all.
