PROCLAMATION 6304—JUNE 11, 1991 105 STAT. 2575 that makes the Foiirth of July a favorite summer hoUday carries deeper symbohsm and meaning. Each resonates with the singular joy of a iree people. This year we are particularly grateful for the blessings of liberty because we have been reminded of the price that many brave and self- less individuals have been willing to pay to secure them. Just months ago, when forces led by a brutal tyrant invaded a small, defenseless country—raping, pillaging, and threatening not only the stability of an entire region but also vital interests of all freedom-loving peoples— thousands of coiirageous Americans answered the call of duty. Our celebration of Independence Day, 1991, is dedicated in a special way to them—to the regulars, reservists, National Guardsmen, and members of the United States Merchant Marine who helped to liberate Kuwait. Of course, as we honor our Persian Gulf veterans, we also remember in prayer each of their comrades who made the ultimate sacritice in service to om* country. We salute with great pride and gratitude the military personnel who offered vital support for our mission from bases here at home and aroimd the world, and we pay due tribute to all those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The Americans who fought tyranny and lawlessness in the Persian Gulf have upheld, once again, the principles that were first affirmed on these shores 215 years ago when our Nation's Founders elected "between submission or the sword." On this Independence Day—a day marked by triumphant homecomings and by the promise of a safer, more peaceful world—it is titting that we recall the words that Thomas Jefferson wrote shortly before his death on July 4, 1826: All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man.... These are grounds of hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby ask all Americans to join in celebrating this 215th anniversary of our Nation's Independence with appropriate ceremonies and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifteenth. GEORGE BUSH
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