his 11th-century voyage to ``Helluland, Markland, and Vinland,'' Leif Erikson exemplified virtues universally admired throughout
world history. This explorer with a missionary spirit challenged the unknown
with courage and faith. He triumphed, and his example has inspired many another
to do the same. On Leif Erikson Day, 1988, we recall
and revere the achievements of this man and of the Nordic people who have
followed him to North America through the centuries.
Leif Erikson Day we also salute all Americans who
have left their homes abroad, arrived on our shores after much struggle, and
built a new life in this land of freedom and opportunity. Like Leif Erikson, none of them could be sure of success; but, like
him, they were willing to take on and conquer adversity. Through the
generations they and their descendants have helped America meet many challenges --
the cultivation of the land and the construction of cities, the winning of our
liberty and independence, and the defense of our country's cause.
year's 350th anniversary of the first permanent settlement of Swedes and Finns
has given us a special opportunity to celebrate the excellent relations between
the United States and these two
countries. On Leif Erikson Day this year, we
celebrate, too, the friendship between the people of the United States and those of all the
Nordic countries. Let us also remind ourselves that a treasured part of our
heritage as Americans is the longing to seek the horizon and to cross every
frontier with daring and determination like those of ``Leif the Lucky.''
honor of Leif Erikson and our Nordic American
heritage, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved on September 2, 1964 (78
Stat. 849, 36 U.S.C. 169c), has authorized and requested the President to
proclaim October 9 of each year as ``Leif Erikson
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim October
as Leif Erikson Day, and I direct the appropriate
Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government
buildings on that day. I also urge the people of the United States to honor Leif Erikson and our Nordic American heritage by holding
appropriate exercises and ceremonies in suitable places throughout our land.
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of
September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of
the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and thirteenth.
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register, , September 29, 1988]