The Army's Birthday Parade
“We support the troops”?
As many of you know, on Saturday, June 14, the U.S. Army celebrates its 250th birthday. Unfortunately, like everything else these days, especially anything with a patriotic theme, there is now controversy about whether to even hold the parade.
Last week I was contacted by an AP reporter, Ben Finley, about giving him an interview to discuss my thoughts about the parade. I told him that my best contribution would be to give him the name of some others who were more articulate and insightful than I on such a topic. So, I put him in touch with two friends and West Point classmates, Jim McDonough and Mike Nardotti.
Ben interviewed a number of veterans who had views on both sides of the issue about the value of the parade. The AP published Ben’s article on Wednesday. The article is bookended with interviews of Jim and Mike, both of whom make the case supporting the parade. You can read it here. https://apnews.com/article/military-parade-army-trump-birthday-veterans-0912f4009b4d9fc157b35bb9edf9375a
Please do take the time to give it a good read.
My thoughts
I had previously had some contact with Ben after he read my eulogy of Keith, A Tribute to Toby Keith and the American Soldier. Ben then wrote an article about Keith for the AP. My impression of him was that he was, as Fox News would say, “fair and balanced. If there are any slackers here who haven’t read the article yet, please go back and read it and see if you agree.
“Thank you for your service”?
It should come as no surprise to my readers that I support honoring the Army with this parade to celebrate its 250th birthday. Despite the protestations from Never Trumpers, a military parade here is nothing new. Historically, we have had military parades to celebrate victories in war and even major campaigns. The inaugural parades for both Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy featured a significant military presence that included marching troops, missiles and military vehicles. When I was a cadet at West Point, we regularly marched in the Armed Forces Day parade in New York City. Similar Armed Forces Day parades were held in cities and towns across the country as a show of support for the military. They did this because they respected the military and the sacrifices the troops and their families had made and wanted to show their support. Has it really now become unacceptable to support a parade celebrating the Army’s 250th birthday?
I am afraid that the answer has become “yes” in some quarters.
In recent years, overt support for the military and the troops has become more acceptable than it was during the Vietnam era. “We support the military” and “thank you for your service” have even become de rigeur for many (but not all) politicians. But do they really mean it?
The Army’s birthday parade offers a reciprocal way for both the Army and the country to say, “Thank you.” The Army and the participating troops are saying thank you for the support the nation has given them. Thank you, America, for the discipline, focus, patriotism, and the devotion to “Duty, Honor, Country” that the U.S. Army and all the military services have imbued in us. And most of all, thank you just for the opportunity to serve this great country.
And, by supporting this Army birthday parade and avoiding the temptation to misuse it for political sniping, the country and the people have a way to say, “Thank you for your service” and really mean it. To say, thank you to the U.S. Army and its soldiers for working the interminable long hours in both war and in peace, for the humanitarian services you have provided to the world, for enduring the family separations that are the norm during long and dangerous combat deployments, for facing the fire and doing your duty in the face of stress and danger, blood and death that is unimaginable to non-combat veterans, and for all the sacrifices you and your families have made.
If you agree that such a thank-you has been earned and is deserved, please add your own support in the comments, send this to friends, and ask your congressional reps and local politicians to make their voices heard in support of the Army’s 250th birthday celebration. This is especially important, given the protests that are being massively coordinated for this June 14.
I believe honoring the military should be a regular thing for our country. We need to overwhelm the opposition to such events. I'm tired of hearing the bemoaning of the few which seems to overshadow the true patriotism of most Americans. Time to shout down the naysayers and call them out publicly. Shame them. Boo them. Overwhelm them singing our National Anthem.
The only large military parade in my lifetime (born 1958) was the Gulf War parade in June, 1991. I am certain Saturday's parade will be much larger. Why can't we celebrate the Military with a large parade? After all, I can't think of any other group of Americans to which we owe more.