WHEREAS American-flag shipping is essential to the defense of this and other nations of the free world and to the cause of freedom on every continent; and

WHEREAS American merchant ships and the men who sail them implement our national policy of providing food and supplies to the famished and stricken of the world when the need arises; and

WHEREAS the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 20, 1933 (48 Stat. 73), designated May 22 as National Maritime Day, in commemoration of the departure from Savannah, Georgia, on May 22, 1819, of the S.S. Savannah on the first transoceanic voyage by any steamship, and requested the President to issue a proclamation annually calling for the observance of that day; and

WHEREAS the world's first nuclear powered merchant ship, named the N.S. Savannah in honor of the first Savannah, will put to sea this year, demonstrating for all peoples the intention of this Nation to use atomic power for peaceful purposes:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN F. KENNEDY, President of the United States of America, do hereby urge the people of the United States to honor our Merchant Marine on Monday, May 22, 1961, by displaying the flag of the United States at their homes or other suitable places; and I direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

I also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on the twenty-second day of May in tribute to the American Merchant Marine.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this fifth day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-fifth.

John F. Kennedy

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1962 by President John F. Kennedy of the United States of America

WHEREAS 1962 is the year in which the world's first nuclear-powered merchant ship, the N.S. Savannah, first went to sea; and

WHEREAS the N.S. Savannah will visit many of the ports of our Nation during the remainder of this year; and

WHEREAS, in the years to come, this nuclear-powered merchant ship will demonstrate to the peoples of the world the intent of the United States of America to use the atom for peaceful purposes; and

WHEREAS the citizens of this Nation may take justifiable pride in the building of this ship and in its future dedication to our peaceful trade and world commerce; and

WHEREAS it is in the service of our trade and commerce that the American Merchant Marine provides a vital link between this Nation and the other nations of the free world; and

WHEREAS the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 20, 1933 (48 Stat. 73), designated May 22 at National Maritime Day, in commemoration of the departure from Savannah, Georgia, on May 22, 1819, of the S.S. Savannah on the first transoceanic voyage by any steamship, and requested the President to issue a proclamation annually calling for the observance of that day:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN F. KENNEDY, President of the United States of America, do hereby urge the citizens of the United States to honor our American Merchant Marine on Tuesday, May 22, 1962, by displaying the flag of the United States at their homes and other suitable places; and I direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

I also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on Tuesday, May 22, in tribute to the American Merchant Marine.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this thirtieth day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen-hundred and sixty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-sixth.

John F. Kennedy

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1963 by President John F. Kennedy of the United States of America

WHEREAS the need for expanding trade with the free world is vital both to world stability and to the well-being and the economy of our own Nation and of other peaceable peoples; and

WHEREAS the major portion of such trade-both exports and imports -- transits the oceans of the world by ship; and

WHEREAS the ships of the American Merchant Marine provide access to world markets and to the sources of sorely needed raw materials upon which our factories and farms alike depend; and

WHEREAS our ships and the men who man them stand ready to serve the Nation in any circumstance and in all conditions of peaceful commerce or national emergency; and

WHEREAS the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 20, 1933 (48 Stat. 73), designated May 22 as National Maritime Day, in commemoration of the departure from Savannah, Georgia, on May 22, 1819, of the S.S. Savannah on the first transoceanic voyage by any steamship, and requested the President to issue a proclamation annually calling for the observance of that day:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN F. KENNEDY, President of the United States of America, do hereby urge the citizens of the United States to honor our American Merchant Marine on Wednesday, May 22, 1963, by displaying the flag of the United States at their homes and other suitable places; and I direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag on all Government
buildings on that day.

I also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on Wednesday, May 22, in tribute to the American Merchant Marine.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this nineteenth day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-seventh.

John F. Kennedy

Maritime Day Proclamations by President Johnson
Maritime Day Proclamations and Celebrations
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Maritime Day Proclamations courtesy John F. Kennedy Presidential Libray and from Statutes-At-Large of the United States of America

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