Ill STAT. 2984 PROCLAMATION 7029—OCT. 1, 1997 Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936 (49 Stat. 1895), has designated the last Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother's Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Sunday, September 28, 1997, as Gold Star Mother's Day. I call upon all government officials to display the United States flag on government buildings on this solemn day. I encourage the American people also to display the flag and to hold appropriate meetings in their homes, places of worship, or other suitable places as a public expression of the sympathy and respect that our Nation holds for our Gold Star Mothers. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of September, in the year of oiur Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hiuidred and twenty-second. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7029 of October 1, 1997 National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 1997 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Every year we dedicate the month of October to focus on breast cancer and to reaffirm our national commitment to eradicate it. But for thousands of American women and their families and firiends, breast cancer is a devastating reality that casts a shadow over their lives every day. In this decade alone, nearly half a million women will die of breast cancer, and more than 1.5 million new cases of the disease will be diagnosed. Our greatest weapon in the crusade against breast cancer is knowledge; knowledge of its causes and knowledge about prevention and treatment. My Administration has established a National Action Plan on Breast Cancer to unite organizations across the country in a collaborative effort to find out more about the disease and how best to respond to it. The Department of Health and Human Services is taking the lead in this national effort, through education and research at the National Cancer Institute and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; through nationwide screening and detection programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; through certification of mammography facilities by the Food and Drug Administration; through prevention services and treatment by health benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid; and through increased access to clinical treatment trials for cancer patients who are beneficiaries in Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs programs. The Department of Defense has also initiated a breast cancer research program to reduce the incidence of breast cancer, increase survival rates, and improve the quality of life for women diagnosed with the disease.
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