1 of 12 | Military vehicles drive over the Memorial Bridge during the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Pool photo by Allison Dinner/UPI | License Photo
June 14 (UPI) — Rain dampened President Donald Trump’s parade to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday with thousands of troops, 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft as a flyover was canceled because of poor weather.
The event also coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday and Flag Day.
The president swore in 300 new service members shortly before the parade concluded.
Trump attended the parade with First Lady Melania Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
A flood watch was in effect for the entire region starting at 2 p.m. and is expected to last until 11 p.m. Highs were in 80s with high humidity during daytime festivities on the National Mall, WRC-TV reported.
Guest entry for the military parade began at 2 p.m.
The one-hour parade, which drew several hundred thousand people, started moving down Constitution Avenue at 6 p.m. near the Lincoln Memorial and then proceed past the White House.
The parade, which saw people assemble along the mile-long route early Saturday morning, will end alongside the National Mall, near the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Washington Monument.
The parade was originally planned to be smaller, but had been set to start outside the Pentagon and go 2.2 miles.
Trump posted Saturday morning on Truth Social: “OUR GREAT MILITARY PARADE IS ON, RAIN OR SHINE. REMEMBER, A RAINY DAY PARADE BRINGS GOOD LUCK. I’LL SEE YOU ALL IN D.C.”
Trump is scheduled to speak during the parade.
The president was joined by his wife, Melania, was well as Vice President JD Vance, his wife Usha and their children. Also om hand were Cabinet members, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secvretary of State Marco Rubion.
“For two and a half centuries, the men and women of America’s Army have dominated our enemies and protected our freedom at home,” Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social in early June. “This parade salutes our soldiers’ remarkable strength and unbeatable spirit. You won’t want to miss it. Just don’t miss this one. It’s going to be good.”
The Army Golden Knights’ parachute demonstration was scheduled to be after the parade but instead kicked it off because of forecast worse weather.
A concert was scheduled afterward at the Ellipse and fireworks at 9: 45 p.m..
Earlier in the day, a birthday wreath was laid at Arlington National Cemetery and there was a fitness event at the National Mall. The Birthday Festival there will include opportunities to meet with Medal of Honor recipients, astronauts and soldiers.
All of the activities are free and there is tight security.
Matt McCool, the U.S. Secret Service agent in charge of the Washington field office, said “thousands of agents, officers and specialists from across the country” are deployed. People attending the parade or a related festival will be required to go through checkpoints with magnetometers.
The big show will be the military equipment during the parade, officials have said, which includes 28 140,000-pound Abrams tanks, as well as 6,600 soldiers wearing uniforms representing every U.S. conflict dating back to the Revolutionary War and aircraft flying overhead
About 1,800 Soldiers from III Armored Corps in Fort Cavazos participated.
“The Army’s 250th birthday is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, a spokesperson