[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 17 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Pages 897-898]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6677--Announcing the Death of Richard Milhous Nixon

April 22, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

To the People of the United States:

    It is with deep sadness that I announce officially the death of 
Richard Milhous Nixon, the thirty-seventh President of the United 
States, on April 22, 1994.
    A naval officer cited for meritorious service in World War II, 
Richard Nixon has long been a fixture in our national life. In a career 
of public service that spanned a quarter of a century, he helped to 
shape American history. Before taking office as President in 1969, he 
served with distinction in the United States House of Representatives, 
in the United States Senate, and as Vice President in the Eisenhower 
Administration. From his early days in the Congress, through his tenure 
in the White House, and throughout the two decades that have passed 
since he left office, he remained a fierce advocate for freedom and 
democracy around the world.
    Leaders in statecraft and students of international affairs will 
long look for guidance to President Nixon's tremendous accomplishments. 
His struggle to bridge the gaps between the United States and the former 
Soviet Union--beginning in the famous ``kitchen debate'' with Nikita 
Khrushchev and culminating with the detente of the early 1970s--helped 
to maintain the peace during a volatile era. Our improved relationship 
with the Chinese people today has grown from President Nixon's bold 
visit to China over 20 years ago. And in the many books he wrote more 
recently, he presented a cogent picture of emerging global politics that 
will serve as a guide for policy makers for years to come.
    President Nixon offered our Nation a great many positive domestic 
initiatives as well. His work to clean up the environment, change our 
Nation's welfare system, improve law enforcement, and reform health care 
serves as an inspiration to us today as we seek to place the ``American 
Dream'' within the grasp of all of our citizens.

[[Page 898]]

    In his book, In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat and Renewal, 
President Nixon wrote, ``I believe . . . that the richness of life is 
not measured by its length but by its breadth, its height and its 
depth.'' This is, indeed, a most fitting epitaph for his remarkable 
life. He suffered defeats that would have ended most political careers, 
yet he won stunning victories that many of the world's most popular 
leaders have failed to attain. On this solemn day, we recognize the 
significant value of his contributions to our Nation, and we pray that 
he left us with enough of his wisdom to guide us safely into the next 
century.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, in tribute to the memory of President Nixon 
and as an expression of public sorrow, do hereby direct that the flag of 
the United States be displayed at half-staff at the White House and on 
all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels of the United States for a 
period of 30 days from the day of his death. I also direct that for the 
same length of time the representatives of the United States in foreign 
countries shall make similar arrangements for the display of the flag at 
half-staff over their Embassies, Legations, and other facilities abroad, 
including all military facilities and stations.
    I hereby order that suitable honors be rendered by units of the 
Armed Forces under orders of the Secretary of Defense on the day of the 
funeral.
    I do further appoint the day of interment to be a National Day of 
Mourning throughout the United States. I encourage the American people 
to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship to pay 
homage to the memory of President Nixon and to seek God's continued 
blessing on our land. I invite the people of the world who share our 
grief to join us in this solemn observance.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second 
day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:20 a.m., April 25, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on April 23, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
April 26.