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President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14 could be celebrated with a massive military parade in Washington, D.C., according to newly-emerged planning documents.
The White House has previously denied that any such event was in development but the documents – dating from April 28 and 29, seen by the Associated Press (AP) but not yet made public – outline a spectacular occasion to mark the commander-in-chief’s birthday, which happens to fall on the same date as the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
The plans indicate that as many as 6,600 soldiers from 11 corps and divisions could be involved, as will 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters and more than 2,000 civilians, with the parade’s route running from Arlington, Virginia, where the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are situated, across the Potomac River and into Washington.
Among the armored vehicles and artillery units being considered for inclusion are tank battalions, Stryker and Bradley fighting vehicles, Paladin artillery vehicles, Howitzers and infantry vehicles.
There could also be at least seven army bands taking part, parachute jumps performed by the Golden Knights and a concert and firework display in the evening to round off the day.
Army spokesman Steve Warren said on Thursday no final decisions had been made and the White House has yet to make any formal announcement.
But it is no secret that President Trump has long held ambitions for just such a display to be held in his honor on Pennsylvania Avenue.
His fixation with the idea appears to have begun after he joined French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on July 14 2017 to observe the Bastille Day commemorations on the Champs Elysees and was deeply impressed by what he saw.
However, the American equivalent being discussed in the planning documents risks ending up looking more like Russia’s annual Victory Day celebrations to mark the Red Army’s crucial role in the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
That event is held in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9 every year and features a convoy of Army vehicles and troops marching in formation, saluting President Vladimir Putin and his Kremlin cabinet as they pass, in a fierce demonstration of military might.
Trump first pitched his own fantasy parade during his first term but, much to his annoyance, it was ultimately scrapped as too costly, with one estimate putting a $92m price tag on the event.
No estimates are offered in the new planning documents but the cost is again likely to be in the tens of millions of dollars, with the prospect of accommodating and feeding so many participants and transporting in their vehicles by road and rail posing a potential logistical nightmare for organizers.
One of the files seen by the AP flags “significant concerns regarding security requirements” while D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has warned of the physical toll the vehicles involved could take on the city’s roads, potentially necessitating expensive repairs in its aftermath.
Tanks rolling through the streets “would not be good,” she said. “If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.”
Army spokesman Colonel Dave Butler said: “We want to make it into an event that the entire nation can celebrate with us. We want Americans to know their Army and their soldiers.
“A parade might become part of that, and we think that will be an excellent addition to what we already have planned.”
Trump himself has already attempted to whip up excitement, writing on Truth Social late on Thursday, without mentioning the parade directly: “Many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II.
“I am hereby renaming May 8th as Victory Day for World War II and November 11th as Victory Day for World War I. We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything – That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore, that know how to do so!
“We are going to start celebrating our victories again!”
English (US) ·