Memorial Day, 2026 — Proclamation 11031 (Archive)

Historical — the 2026 observance has ended. This is an archival reproduction, not a notice to lower flags today.

Issued: May 22, 2026 · Document: Presidential Proclamation 11031 · President: Donald J. Trump

The displayed post date is the presidential document’s issuance date. FORTISVEX prepared and reviewed this archive entry on October 26, 2026; it was not originally published by FORTISVEX on the historical issuance date.

Flag-display period and scope

• Type: Annual observance.
• Flag: Flag of the United States.
• Period: May 25, 2026, until noon; citizens are requested to observe the customary forenoon period.
• Scope: Requests Governors and appropriate officials to direct display on buildings, grounds and naval vessels throughout the United States and areas under its jurisdiction and control; also requests home display by citizens.

The separate 11:00 a.m. prayer hour and 3:00 p.m. local National Moment of Remembrance are not the half-staff end time.

Where the document does not specify an exact start time or time zone, none is inferred here. The complete source wording below controls the historical record.

Official document and signature page

View the published signature page below, or open the complete official proclamation PDF on GovInfo (new tab).

This is an unchanged reproduction of the officially published page, including the reproduced presidential signature; it is not an original wet-signed document. The complete proclamation text remains below.

Official text: Memorial Day, 2026

The following is the White House’s published text. Wording is reproduced without editorial corrections; the surrounding explanation is separate from the presidential document.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

The greatest fighting force the world has ever known is built upon the extraordinary service of selfless men and women who safeguard our liberty and preserve our way of life.  Since the birth of our Nation nearly 250 years ago, countless souls have lost their lives in this noble and righteous pursuit.  On Memorial Day, we honor these American heroes.

America endures in strength, power, and prosperity because of the awe-inspiring selflessness and valor of those in uniform willing to lay down their lives in its defense.  From the frozen fields of Valley Forge and the beaches of Normandy to the jungles of Vietnam and the mountains of Afghanistan, the sacrifice across our Armed Forces is the foundation upon which our Republic stands.

 Today, we especially remember the 13 members of the Joint Force who have fallen in support of Operation Epic Fury to defend our national security and preserve the blessings of liberty for future generations.  These warfighters lost their lives for freedom’s cause and we will never forget the cost.

All Americans inherit the glorious gift of liberty that has been purchased with the spilled blood of brave warriors and the tears and heartache of those they left behind.  It is fitting and necessary for our Nation to pause for an annual reminder of the enduring and perilously high cost of freedom, but the immeasurable gravity of what has been sacrificed for the greater good deserves our eternal reverence and unwavering gratitude every day.

On this solemn day, the First Lady and I ask you to join us in prayer for lasting peace in this volatile world, for the protection of those in harm’s way, and for the grace of Almighty God to comfort all who grieve.

In honor of all of our fallen heroes, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106–579, has also designated 3:00 p.m.

local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 25, 2026, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer. I ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m.

local time on Memorial Day. I also request the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that on Memorial Day the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I also request citizens to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.

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

                              DONALD J. TRUMP

Official sources and archive notes

• Original White House proclamation
• Federal Register record — Proclamation 11031
• Official Federal Register PDF on GovInfo

The signed date and flag instruction were cross-checked against the official Federal Register PDF. Federal Register publication can occur after a proclamation was issued or after its flag-display period ended. This entry preserves that distinction.

This record is part of FORTISVEX’s archive for January 20, 2025 through October 25, 2026. It does not cover President Trump’s first term or state-only orders. Presidential source text is a U.S. federal government work reproduced for historical reference; reproduction does not imply government endorsement of FORTISVEX.