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Photos from the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade

Fireworks light up the sky, the Washington Monument and the Potomac River at the conclusion of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary celebration in Washington on Saturday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Fireworks light up the sky, the Washington Monument and the Potomac River at the conclusion of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary celebration in Washington on Saturday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
By Bill Clark and Tom Williams
Posted June 16, 2025 at 12:28pm

Saturday’s military parade, which celebrated the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary and was held on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, featured fireworks, tanks, military flyovers and a plethora of red, white and blue. It was the first military parade held in Washington since the June 8, 1991 parade honoring the end of the Gulf War. The parade offered a sharp contrast to protests Saturday against the Trump administration in cities across the nation dubbed “No Kings” — a split screen reflecting both sides of a deeply divided America.

“No Kings” activists hang banners and signs on an I-395 highway overpass in Arlington, Va., on Saturday morning before the start of President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington a few miles away. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
An American Airlines jet comes in for a landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Saturday before the start of President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington. The FAA ordered a pause of all arrivals and departures to and from the airport during the parade. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
The Golden Knights parachute down to the Ellipse during the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade on Constitution Avenue on Saturday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Tanks roll down Constitution Avenue during the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade on Saturday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
U.S. Army helicopters fly over the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade in Washington on Saturday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
A man holds a happy birthday sign along Constitution Avenue during the parade. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
A soldier holds a drone in the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Attendees watch fireworks at the Washington Monument at the conclusion of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

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