spot_img
24.6 C
London
HomeTOP STORIESWashington’s Last Military Parade Came at a Very Different Moment

Washington’s Last Military Parade Came at a Very Different Moment

The 1991 Victory Parade after the first Gulf War celebrated a lopsided victory against an enemy army in the largest U.S. military operation since Vietnam.

It began with an F-117 stealth fighter flying by as thousands of U.S. troops began a 3.5-mile march from Capitol Hill.

The last major military parade in the nation’s capital was on June 8, 1991, just months after the end of Operation Desert Storm. It was called the National Victory Celebration, and its festivities were a celebration of American military might and technological prowess after U.S. and coalition forces had expelled the Iraqi army from Kuwait following roughly a month of airstrikes and a 100-hour ground war.

Once the wedge-shaped black jet flew down the National Mall, more than a dozen Army and Navy helicopters followed, as did an OV-10 Bronco observation plane from the Marines.

Hundreds of thousands of people cheered as more than 8,000 active-duty and reserve service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard along with a civilian contingent from the Merchant Marine made their way along the route from Capitol Hill down Constitution Avenue, over the Memorial Bridge across the Potomac River to the Pentagon.

Early in the route, they marched under a huge yellow ribbon suspended over the road by cranes.

On Saturday, troops and military equipment were set to again roll down the streets of Washington, this time for the Army’s 250th birthday celebration. President Trump has boasted about plans for the “amazing day,” which is also his 79th birthday.

Image

Desert Storm veterans waved to spectators lining the route of the parade.Credit…Terry Ashe/The LIFE Picture Collection, via Shutterstock
Image

A picnic on the National Mall for the service members after the parade.Credit…Bob Strong/Associated Press

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.


Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.


Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

spot_img

latest articles

explore more