The White House has confirmed a military parade will be held to mark the US Army’s 250th anniversary on 14 June, which falls on the same day as President Donald Trump’s birthday.
A “day-long festival” will be held on the National Mall in Washington DC, an army spokesperson said, adding that the event would feature 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft.
Trump first floated a military parade during his first term, but he scrapped the idea after reports it would have cost about $90 million (£71m).
Earlier on Friday, Trump announced plans to rename Veterans Day – known as Remembrance Day in the UK – as “Victory Day for World War I” to celebrate American contributions to the conflict.
The army said planning for the military parade was “actively underway”, and it was exploring “options to make the celebration even bigger, with more capability demonstrations, additional displays of equipment, and more engagement with the community.” Trump turns 79 that day.
He first proposed a military parade for Veterans Day in 2018.
He said he wanted the US to “top” France’s Bastille Day parade, which he attended on a visit to Paris in 2017.
Local politicians asked for a “ridiculously high” price, he said, and the idea was abandoned.
Meanwhile, in addition to renaming Veterans Day, Trump has said he wants to name VE Day on 8 May as “Victory Day for World War II”.
The announcement was not accompanied by an executive order, and it is unclear whether he intends for 8 May to become a federal holiday – a power that rests with the US Congress.
The days mark the end of World War I in 1918 and Germany’s surrender to the allies in 1945, respectively.
In his late-night post, Trump said that “many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other country, by far, in producing a victorious result” in the Second World War.
“We won both wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything,” he added. “That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore, that know how to do so! So we are going to start celebrating our victories again!”
Later on Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to deny reports the name of Veterans Day would be changing, writing on X: “We will always honor Veterans Day AND we should commemorate the end of WWI and WWII as VICTORY DAYS!”
VE Day celebrations being held in the UK, France, Canada and other parts of the world this year mark 80 years since World War Two formally ended in Europe with Germany’s unconditional surrender shortly after Berlin fell to Soviet forces.
Russia commemorates the occasion as the end of what it calls the “Great Patriotic War”. It is one of the most important holidays in the country and is marked by a massive parade.
About 27 million of its citizens died during the war, which in the Soviet Union’s case began when Germany invaded in July 1941.
According to statistics published online by the US National WWII Museum in New Orleans, about 418,500 Americans were killed in both the European and Pacific theatres of the conflict. Of the total, about 416,000 were military casualties.
The US has not historically recognised VE Day. The country was still at war with Japan on the Pacific front for several more months after conflict ended in Europe.
Veterans Day, known as Remembrance Day in the UK, was formerly known as Armistice Day in the US to mark the end of fighting in Europe on 11 November 1918.
After World War Two and the Korean War, it was renamed to honour all US military veterans. Memorial Day, which always falls on the last Monday in May, honours Americans who were killed in battle.
