US to stage military parade on June 14, Trump’s birthday

The United States will stage a military parade on June 14 to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army, the White House said on Friday, with the event also falling on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.

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Trump “will honor American Veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and military history with a military parade!” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly wrote on social media.

Kelly included a link to a Fox News article that said the parade will include US troops, students from the country’s military academies, and re-enactors and equipment from past conflicts ranging from the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror.

The plan to hold a display of American military strength in the streets of the nation’s capital was reported by the Washington City Paper last month, which said the parade could stretch 6km (four miles) from the Pentagon to the White House.

Trump had floated the idea of holding a military parade in Washington during his first term after attending a Bastille Day parade in France.

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It never materialised, however, after the Pentagon said it could cost US$92 million and concerns were raised that tanks and other heavy military vehicles would damage the city’s streets.

US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are seen on screen during the Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris in July 2017. Photo: AP
US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are seen on screen during the Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris in July 2017. Photo: AP

  

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