The Pentagon has announced that the proposed Military Parade of President Donald Trump will be held on Veterans Day on November 11. The date is significant because it marks the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I. This has been confirmed by National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.
Daily Mail UK reports that the idea of holding the military parade came to the president when he visited France in July last year. He witnessed the Bastille Day procession along with the French president Emmanuel Macron and it impressed him. The procession had military arsenal and soldiers who marched down Champs-Élysées.
The military parade he has in mind would be from White House to Capitol Hill.
The background
It seems when the French president Emmanuel Macron visited the Capitol after the Bastille Day parade, Donald Trump dropped hints that he wants to have something on similar lines. He had July 4th in mind and the venue would be Washington. He wanted a parade that would outdo the one he had seen in France. However, his idea did not find favor with a section of Democrat officials who felt it would be a waste of money.
Others felt that the armed forces should not be involved in such activities to boost the ego of an individual. Incidentally, the Inaugural Parade of Trump had a low turnout, and there is a feeling that the proposed military parade would amount to a wastage of Pentagon time and resources.
Of course, if it is held on Veterans Day which happens to be the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I, the parade could be made interesting to attract the crowds. It would provide an opportunity to showcase the might of the United States and how it has progressed over the last century. It would certainly add some charm if vintage aircraft and weapons were included in the parade.
In those days, it was the age of biplanes, today it is all about supersonic fighters, ICBMs, nuclear submarines, and drones. The audience would be interested to see the old and new age weapons of warfare side by side.
It will be a costly affair
According to US News, the cost of holding the military parade on Veterans Day would run into millions and there are reservations in certain quarters about the effectiveness of such a display.
Incidentally, French president Emmanuel Macron participated in the Bastille Day parade. He rode in an open-top military vehicle and was accompanied by the former chief of the French armed forces with military men on horseback. It is not known whether Donald Trump will do something similar.
