No, it wasn’t a goose-stepping military parade à la North Korea or Germany circa 1939. It was a proud celebration of military prowess and professionalism in service of the American Spirit.
The parade was configured to spotlight the U.S. Army’s 250-year history rather than to inspire fear in the hearts of our enemies; the intended audience was very much the American patriot. Troops marched in a loose cadence that allowed for the individuality of each soldier’s gait, rather than in the sort of inhuman perfection achieved by communist overseers. Those riding in the rolling stock smiled broadly and waved to the crowds. They saluted with pride and love of country as they passed the reviewing stand, rather than freezing in rigid salute to Dear Leader.
In return, the Commander-in-Chief spent much of the 90-minute parade on his feet, saluting the troops passing by.
President Trump salutes as the 82nd Airborne Division All-American Band from Fort Bragg North Carolina marches in the US Army Grand Military Parade.
pic.twitter.com/Dz2sFsA8MU— And We Know©🇺🇸 (@andweknow) June 14, 2025
The male parade narrator sounded like what one routinely hears at military academy football games. The spectacular event was a walk down Memory Lane for the venerable military branch, showcasing its history of uniforms, music, units, equipment, and campaigns.
Over 6,000 troops marched in formation, wearing uniforms representing every U.S. conflict from the Revolutionary War to the present. Army animals were represented, too, from the traditional horses and mules to futuristic “ghost” robot dogs.
Between marching troops, there were vast rolling displays of hardware. There were Jeeps, fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, half-tracks, deuce-and-a-halfs, and a plethora of tanks to warm the hearts of every enthusiast. (And no, the tanks didn’t destroy the streets, as the haters had been predicting. They had been outfitted with rubberized treads to minimize damage to the pavement, and steel plates were laid on the parade route as well.)
Fun Fact:
We could have almost 10 parades celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the US Army just with the pallet of cash Barack Hussein Obama secretly flew to “death to America” chanting Iran. pic.twitter.com/FchCoUWgvy
— C3 (@C_3C_3) June 14, 2025
Helicopters including Chinooks, Black Hawks, Apaches, and Cobras provided drama in the skies, along with flyovers by World War II-era Mustangs and guest appearances by Air Force Thunderbirds and F-22 fighter jets. The Golden Knights parachuted into the scene, too.
The Golden Knights have landed 👏🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rGxmW8slC7
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) June 14, 2025
Military bands accompanied the proudly parading soldiers, and the vast display of rolling stock was punctuated by a heavy metal guitar-driven medley of Heart, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Van Halen, CCR, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, and more pulse-pounding rock. The historic USMA Military Band brought up the rear to fully encircle the parade in tradition and history.
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Donald Trump never served in the U.S. Military (other than as CiC), but he did spend his teen years excelling at New York Military Academy, a prep school informally associated with nearby U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. After acting up at Kew-Forest School in Queens, the 13-year-old future president was sent to the boarding school, in hopes that the military environment would better channel his assertive personality. And Trump thrived there, participating in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) and ultimately rising to the rank of cadet captain, as well as captaining his varsity baseball team and serving in the school’s honor guard before graduating at age 17.
The parade culminated in the president administering the oath of enlistment/re-enlistment to a group of soldiers. “Congratulations, and have a great life. Have a great life,” Trump concluded.
The celebration continued on into the evening, with a live country music performance, a brief address by Vice President JD Vance, himself a Marine veteran, and a speech poignant with military historical references by President Trump.
Quite a view! pic.twitter.com/BoWtLKXZ3X
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 14, 2025
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