Monday, May 25, 2026

President's Memorial Day Proclamation

President Trump last week issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring today as Memorial Day, saying in part:

... All Americans inherit the glorious gift of liberty that has been purchased with the spilled blood of brave warriors and the tears and heartache of those they left behind.  It is fitting and necessary for our Nation to pause for an annual reminder of the enduring and perilously high cost of freedom, but the immeasurable gravity of what has been sacrificed for the greater good deserves our eternal reverence and unwavering gratitude every day. 

On this solemn day, the First Lady and I ask you to join us in prayer for lasting peace in this volatile world, for the protection of those in harm’s way, and for the grace of Almighty God to comfort all who grieve.   

In honor of all of our fallen heroes, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950 ... (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President 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 might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106–579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance.

NOW, THEREFORE, I ... do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 25, 2026, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer. I ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day...