A Proclamation on Remembering the 1,000,000 Americans Lost to COVID-⁠19

IMPORTANT UPDATE - "In memory of the one million American lives lost to COVID-19 and their loved ones left behind," President Biden has ordered that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff immediately, until sunset on May 16, 2022.

A Proclamation on Remembering the 1,000,000 Americans Lost to COVID-⁠19

May 12, 2022

Today, we mark a tragic milestone: one million American lives lost to COVID-19. One million empty chairs around the dinner table. Each an irreplaceable loss. Each leaving behind a family, a community, and a Nation forever changed because of this pandemic. Jill and I pray for each of them.

As a Nation, we must not grow numb to such sorrow. To heal, we must remember. We must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as possible. In remembrance, let us draw strength from each other as fellow Americans. For while we have been humbled, we never give up. We can and will do this together as the United States of America.

In memory of the one million American lives lost to COVID-19 and their loved ones left behind, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset May 16, 2022. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

A Proclamation on the Death of Madeleine Korbel Albright

 IMPORTANT UPDATE - As a mark of respect for former Secretary of State Madeleine Korbel Albright and her life of service to our Nation, in view of her passing, President Biden has ordered that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff immediately throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on March 27, 2022. "Madeleine Albright was a force. She defied convention and broke barriers again and again. She was an immigrant fleeing persecution. A refugee in need of safe haven. And like so many before her — and after — she was proudly American."

A Proclamation on the Death of Madeleine Korbel Albright

March 23, 2022

Madeleine Albright was a force. She defied convention and broke barriers again and again. She was an immigrant fleeing persecution. A refugee in need of safe haven. And like so many before her — and after — she was proudly American.

As the devoted mother of three beloved daughters, she worked tirelessly raising them while earning her doctorate degree and starting her career in American diplomacy. She took her talents first to the Senate as a staffer for Senator Edmund Muskie followed by the National Security Council under President Carter. And then to the United Nations where she served as United States Ambassador, and ultimately, made history as our first woman Secretary of State, appointed by President Clinton. A scholar, teacher, bestselling author, and later accomplished business woman, she always believed America was the indispensable Nation, and inspired the next generation of public servants to follow her lead, including countless women leaders around the world. Madeleine was always a force for goodness, grace, and decency — and for freedom.

As a mark of respect for former Secretary of State Madeleine Korbel Albright and her life of service to our Nation, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on March 27, 2022. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

A Proclamation on Amending Proclamation 10320, Death Of Robert J. Dole

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Robert Joseph Dole, a former U.S. senator, died on Sunday, December 5, 2021. The Flag Code dictates that the United States flag should immediately be flown at half-staff, "on the day of death and the following day." 4 USC Section 7(m). In an interesting divergence, President Biden has ordered that “the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff immediately throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on December 9, 2021.” In view of the intervening commemoration of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, consider this proclamation as superseding, or perhaps more aptly, underscoring that former proclamation. The president refers to Sen. Dole as "a statesman like few in our history and a war hero among the greatest of the Greatest Generation,”even as we pay tribute thereto.

A Proclamation on Amending Proclamation 10320, Death Of Robert J. Dole

December 9, 2021

By the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to extend the display of the flag at half-staff as a mark of respect for Robert Joseph Dole, it is hereby ordered that Proclamation 10320 of December 5, 2021, is amended by deleting in the first sentence the words “until sunset on December 9, 2021” and inserting in their place the words “through Saturday, December 11.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.