Whereas, since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States, more than 1,300,000 members of the Armed Forces have given their lives for the cause of liberty, both in the United States and around the world;

Whereas the people of the United States owe a profound debt to those who served the United States in uniform and made the ultimate sacrifice so that their countrymen could live freely;

Whereas the people of the United States have an obligation to honor the memories of the fallen and to commemorate those brave men and women who gave their lives to the cause of freedom;

Whereas President Abraham Lincoln said, [A]ll that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country’s cause. The highest merit, then is due to the soldier.;

Whereas, in an address to the Armed Forces in 1945, President Harry S. Truman said, Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude.;

Whereas the history of Memorial Day began 3 years after the American Civil War, with the Grand Army of the Republic establishing Decoration Day as a day for honoring the Civil War dead by decorating their graves with flowers, with the State of New York being the first to adopt it as a State holiday in 1873, and with all the Union States having adopted it by 1890;

Whereas, in the aftermath of World War I and World War II, Memorial Day became a day to remember and honor all members of the Armed Forces who fought and died on behalf of the United States;

Whereas Congress made the observance of Memorial Day, at the time still often called Decoration Day, a Federal holiday in 1971; and

Whereas the over 1,300,000 members of the Armed Forces who over the centuries gave their lives in service to the people of the United States have earned the enduring respect and gratitude of the United States: Now, therefore, be it