In memory of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, each year in the United States we observe Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.
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On October 25, 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives Joint Resolution 71 was approved. Resolution 71 requested that the President designate September 11 of each year as “Patriot Day”. President George W. Bush signed the resolution into law on December 18, 2001 (as Public Law 107-89).
On this day, it is asked by the President that the American flag is flown at half-staff at individual American homes, the White House and on all United States government buildings and establishments at home and abroad. The President has also asked Americans to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 A.M.(Eastern Daylight Time), the time the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He also strongly encourages Americans to use the Corporation for National and Community Service to find and volunteer for service opportunities.
It was on September 10 of 2012 that President Obama issued a proclamation renaming the day as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, in reference to both Public Laws 107-89 and 111-13 (the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act).
“As we join in serving causes greater than ourselves and honoring those we lost, we are reminded of the ways that the victims of 9/11 live on — in the people they loved, the lives they touched, and the courageous acts they inspired. On Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, we pledge to carry on their legacy of courage and compassion, and to move forward together as one people.” ~Presidential Proclamation–Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance” [Read the entire proclamation]
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