PROCLAMATION 6464—AUG. 12, 1992 106 STAT. 5391

saw more consecutive days on the front lines than any other unit, the
82nd was reactivated just a few months after the United States entered
World War n. The unit was designated as the Army's first airborne di-
vision on August 15, 1942.

The first such infantry unit of its kind, the 82nd Airborne quickly es-
tablished its reputation as a leader in courage and achievement as well.
From its initial parachute and glider assaults into Sicily and Salerno,
through its participation at the Battle of the Bulge—where it helped to
inflict the blows that led to the final collapse of the Nazi war ma-
chine—the 82nd proved to be a fearsome weapon in the Allied struggle
against tyranny. "Those devils in the baggy pants," as an exhausted
enemy soldier once described them, found no sacrifice too great, no
counter-fire too fierce as they stormed from the skies in defense of free-
dom. By the end of World War II, more than 3,000 members of the
82nd had been killed or were missing in action. Another 12,604 had
been wounded. Today we know that their extraordinary selflessness
and daring not only hastened the day of victory but also offered endur-
ing evidence of America's resolve to preserve liberty and democracy.

Members of the 82nd Airborne Division have maintained its tradition
of excellence well beyond the events of a half-century ago, and on this
occasion, we also recall their more recent heroism in the Dominican
Republic, Vietnam, Grenada, and Central America. Just a few years ago,
more than 2,000 Division paratroopers took part in Operation Just
Cause, which liberated the people of Panama from a ruthless dictator.
During the successful international effort to free Kuwait from the sin-
ister aggression of Iraq's Saddam Hussein, members of the 82nd
proved, once again, why they are the United States' premier rapid de-
ployment force.

Ready at all times to deploy anywhere in the world, and with just 18
hours' notice, the 82nd Airborne Division is a leader among leaders,
a special object of pride among the strong and the brave. Thus, while
all of America's service members and veterans deserve our respect and
thanks, on this 50th anniversary of the 82nd Airborne, we raise a spe-
cial salute to "America's Guard of Honor."

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 270, has designated August
15, 1992, as "82nd Airborne Division 50th Anniversary Recognition
Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in ob-
servance of this day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States
of America, do hereby encourage all Americans to join in celebrating
the 50th anniversary of the activation of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Let us honor with appropriate ceremonies and activities the courageous
individuals who have served in the 82nd over the years, and let us re-
member through public and private prayer all those who have died in
the line of duty.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day
of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hun-
dred and seventeenth.

GEORGE BUSH

59-194 O—93-----27 : QL 3 (Pt. 6)