PROCLAMATION 6486—OCT. 8, 1992 106 STAT. 5417

10, 1992, as National Customer Service Week. I invite all Americans
to observe this week with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day
of October, 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

Proclamation 6486 of October 8, 1992

General Pulaski Memorial Day, 1992

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Each October 11, when our Nation honors the memory of General
Casimir Pulaski, the great Revolutionary War hero who died on this
date in 1779, we also celebrate the deep and abiding friendship that
exists between the Polish and American peoples. That friendship has
been rooted in a shared love of liberty and democratic government, and
as we proudly reflect on the past, we also look forward to continuing
cooperation between our two countries in this new, post-Cold War era.

Before he came to the United States more than 200 years ago, Casimir
Pulaski had fought in the struggle to free his native Poland from for-
eign domination and repressive rule. By the time the young Count was
forced into exile, he was, as Benjamin Franklin noted, "famous
throughout Europe for his bravery and conduct in the defense of the
liberties of his country." Although Count Pulaski would not live to see
the liberation of his beloved homeland, no amount of adversity could
deter him from a cause as universally important as that of freedom.
This skilled horseman and fighter thus adopted our ancestors' struggle
as his own, volunteering for service in the Continental Army, where
he was named a General and eventually granted command of his own
cavalry unit.

General Pulaski and his troops fought with great tenacity in a number
of major campaigns, including at Brandywine and Trenton. Impressed
by Pulaski's fearlessness and persistence, General George Washington
later wrote to the Congress that "the Count's valor and active zeal on
all occasions have done him great honor."

It was such zeal for the cause of liberty that inspired General Pulaski
to lead a bold yet dangerous charge during the seige of Savannah on
October 9, 1779. He was mortally wounded in the attempt and died 2
days later.

General Pulaski and other martyrs in America's War for Independence
did not die in vain, however, and today we know that their hard-won
victory helped to ignite the continuing expansion of freedom around
the globe. On this occasion we remember, especially, the generations
of courageous Poles who have shared in the epic struggle for liberty
and self-determination. From our own Savannah, Georgia, to places
such as Westerplatte, the Katyn Forest, and the Gdansk shipyards,