June 14 (UPI) -- Rain dampened President Donald Trump's parade to celebrate the U.S. Army's 250th birthday with thousands of troops, 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft in a parade, concert and fireworks.
The event coincided with Trump's 79th birthday and Flag Day, and the president swore in 300 new service members shortly before the parade concluded.
The president viewed the parade with first lady Melania Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth from behind bulletproof glass on The Ellipse park.
He delivered a short speech that lasted about eight minutes at the parade's conclusion.
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Trump called the Army the "greatest, fiercest and bravest fighting force ever to stride the face of this Earth" during the event-closing speech.
"The Army keeps up free. You make us strong, and tonight, you have made all Americans very proud," Trump told the soldiers at the event.
"Every other country celebrates their victories. It's about time America did too. That's what we're doing tonight," he said.
"Our souls are filled with gratitude for every generation of warriors who have worn the uniform all the way back to the very beginning," Trump told the crowd.
"We love you. We honor you, and we salute your noble service to our flag and to our country," he added.
"As we celebrate tonight, we also think of the hundreds of thousands of Army soldiers who have made the supreme sacrifice for our nation and selflessly laid down their lives in every war from the Revolution to the War on Terror."
A flood watch was in effect for the entire region starting at 2 p.m. and is expected to last until 11 p.m. Highs were in 80s with high humidity during daytime festivities on the National Mall, WRC-TV reported.
The one-hour parade attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors and started moving down Constitution Avenue at 6 p.m. EDT near the Lincoln Memorial and then proceeded past the White House.
The parade, which saw people assemble along the mile-long route early Saturday morning, ended alongside the National Mall and near the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Washington Monument.
The parade was originally planned to be smaller, but had been set to start outside the Pentagon and go 2.2 miles.
Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha and their children, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended the parade while seated alongside Trump.
"For two and a half centuries, the men and women of America's Army have dominated our enemies and protected our freedom at home," Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social in early June.
"This parade salutes our soldiers' remarkable strength and unbeatable spirit. You won't want to miss it. Just don't miss this one. It's going to be good."
The Army Golden Knights' parachute demonstration was scheduled for a ceremonial jump after the parade but moved it up to kick off festivities due to weather conditions.
They carried a U.S. flag with them and presented it to the president after he concluded his event-ending speech.
Earlier in the day, a birthday wreath was laid at Arlington National Cemetery and there was a fitness event at the National Mall.
The Birthday Festival there included opportunities to meet with Medal of Honor recipients, astronauts and soldiers.
Matt McCool, the U.S. Secret Service agent in charge of the Washington field office, said "thousands of agents, officers and specialists from across the country" were deployed for the parade.
The big show was the parade's military equipment, which included aircraft flying overhead, 28 Abrams tanks weighing 70 tons each and 6,600 soldiers wearing uniforms representing every U.S. conflict dating back to the Revolutionary War.
About 1,800 Soldiers from III Armored Corps in Fort Cavazos participated.
"The Army's 250th birthday is a once-in-a-lifetime event," Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, a spokesperson for the III Armored Corps, said earlier this week as a train carrying tanks left Fort Cavazos, Texas.
"This is a chance to see our soldiers, our leaders and the world-class force on full display in our nation's capital. We look forward to being a part of history," he said.
The parade also included a World War II-era B-25 bomber, 50 helicopters, 34 horses, two mules and one dog.
On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted to establish the Continental Army, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence.
D.C. officials had expressed concern about potential road damage from the vehicles, including 60-ton tanks.
While the Army has installed thick steel plates at key turns, the straightaway on Constitution Avenue remains unprotected, but tank tracks were fitted with thick, hard-rubber pads to minimize road damage.
Road closures and security measures made it difficult to drive around the area, and Mayor Muriel Bowser said potential damage could cost millions, but the Army has pledged to cover the costs.
The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the airspace in the area, preventing all arrivals and departures at Reagan National Airport "during the peak of the celebration," the agency said.
The stoppage was expected to affect about 116 flights, a senior government official told NBC News.
The last major military parade, the National Victory Celebration, was on June 8, 1991, to celebrate the end of the Gulf War, though Trump has noted that other countries regularly celebrate the end of World War II.
"We won the war, and we're the only country that didn't celebrate it, and we're going to be celebrating big on Saturday," he said.
Trump said he came up with the idea after watching the French Bastille Day military parade in France in 2017.
"It will be a parade like we haven't had in many, many decades here," he said. "It's a celebration of our country. It's a celebration of the Army."
On Friday night, U.S. Capitol Police arrested 60 people for unlawful demonstration, the agency said.
Military veterans and their families had gathered in front of the Supreme Court, demanding that taxpayer dollars for Saturday's military parade and for troops in Los Angeles should be used for housing, healthcare and food.
A "No Kings" protest also got underway in the nation's capital on Saturday, but organizers and participants said they would stay away from the parade route -- and did.
About 2,000 protests were planned nationwide against Trump spending millions on the parade as well as his policies.
The organization RefuseFascism organized a protest on Saturday afternoon that included a march outside the White House, but they stayed away from the parade route.
Trump "is forging and putting on display today a military loyal, not to the Constitution, not to the rule of law, but to Trump personally with all the White supremacy," event organizer Sunsara Taylor, told CNN.
A 20-year Navy veteran also told CNN: "The parade don't belong here - you see that in dictatorships, okay? You see that in North Korea, you see that in China, you see that in Russia. This is we the people of the United States of America,"
