While he organized the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., senior vice president and executive director of the American Veterans Center Tim Holbert had a bit of advice for President Trump’s upcoming plans to create a military parade.
Holbert welcomes “all opportunities to all of those who serve, and it’s a big logistical challenge to pull something together like this.” He said of the president’s military parade plan, “We’ll have to see how it all comes together, but hopefully it will be a great program if it does.”
“It’s a challenge, but we’re always glad to see salutes to the troops,” Holbert told The Daily Caller.
Critics of President Trump’s announcement of a military parade claimed it was too emphatic of the American military’s presence in everyday consciousness. Supporters of the military parade claimed just the opposite, saying they believed it would create public appreciation for a part of American life that is too often forgotten.
House Republicans support the president’s parade plans, as can be seen in the National Defense Authorization Act. Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry stated he “agrees with President Trump that it is appropriate to honor and celebrate 100 years of patriotic sacrifice in a way that expresses appreciation and admiration for our men and women in uniform, including a parade in the nation’s capital and a national celebration for that purpose.”
Holbert has a history of parade participation stemming from his highschool experience in band as a trumpet player to now overseeing the National Memorial Day Parade, which Holbert said had faded away during World War II but was reinvigorated in 2005.
According to a memo from the Department of Defense, the president’s military parade is set to take place on Nov. 11, which is on Veteran’s Day. The parade is intended to focus on veterans throughout U.S. history, starting from the revolutionary period, and will include the Medal of Honor association, various veterans associations, reenactments, and “a heavy air component at the end of the parade” — tanks, however, are forbidden from the parade in order to “minimize damage to local infrastructure.”
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