For the information of the people of the Philippines, I hereby publish the following proclamation of the President of the United States setting aside, in accordance with custom, Thursday, November twenty-third, nineteen hundred and forty-four, as a day of general thanksgiving:

"BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
"A PROCLAMATION
"In this year of liberation, which has seen so many millions freed from tyrannical rule, it is fitting that we give thanks with special fervor to our Heavenly Father for the mercies we have received individually and as a nation and for the blessings he has restored, through the victories of our arms and those of our Allies, to His children, in other lands.

"For the preservation of our way of life from the threat of destruction, for the unity of spirit which has kept our nation strong, for our abiding faith in freedom, and for the promise of an enduring peace, we should lift up our hearts in Thanksgiving. For the harvest that has sustained us and in its fullness, brought succor to other peoples, for the bounty of our soil, which has produced the sinews of war for the protection of our liberties, and for a multitude of private blessings, known only in our hearts, we should give united thanks to God.

"To the end that we may bear more earnest witness to our gratitude to Almighty God, I suggest a nationwide reading of the Holy Scriptures during the period from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas. Let every man of every creed go to his own version of the Scriptures for a renewed and strengthening contact with those eternal truths and majestic principles which have inspired such measure of true greatness as this nation has achieved.

"Now, therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, in consort with the joint resolution of the Congress approved December 26, 1941, do hereby proclaim Thursday the twenty-third day of November, 1944, a day of national Thanksgiving. And I call upon the people of the United States to observe it by bending every effort to hasten the day of final victory and by offering to God our devout gratitude for His goodness to us and to our fellow men.

"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 first day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-ninth.


"By the President:
"EDWARD R. STETTINIUS, JR.
"Acting Secretary of State"

In line with the proclamation above quoted, I do hereby proclaim Thursday, the twenty-third of November, nineteen hundred and forty-four, as a day of Thanksgiving in the Philippines and enjoin the inhabitants of the nation to offer thanks to Almighty God on that day for the strength and fortitude with which He blessed the Filipino people during their darkest days and for the arrival of the forces of liberation on Philippine soil to free the country. And I call on the people of the Philippines to observe the day by renewing their pledge to continue their unrelenting fight against the forces of evil until victory is won so that His spirit of justice, righteousness and charity may again reign supreme for all men.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Commonwealth of the Philippines to be affixed.

Done at the seat of Government in the Field, this eighth day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-four, and of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the ninth.


By the President:
ARTURO B. ROTOR
Secretary to the President