Which presidents have held military parades in the past?
Executive summary
U.S. presidents have presided over military parades most often at two moments: after major wars (notably the Civil War and World War II) and at inaugurations—examples include Andrew Johnson’s Grand Review of the Armies in May 1865 and Dwight D. Eisenhower’s large inaugural reviews in the 1950s [1] [2]. Military displays in peacetime are rare but not unprecedented: John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural parade and several Cold War-era inaugurals showed hardware and thousands of troops, and the last large-scale D.C. parade before 2019/2025 was President George H.W. Bush’s 1991 National Victory Celebration [3] [2] [4].
1. Victory parades after wars: the 1865 Grand Review and World War II spectacles
When the nation felt it had decisively won, presidents used parades to stage national catharsis: Andrew Johnson declared the Civil War over and ordered the Grand Review of the Armies on May 23–24, 1865, a massive two-day procession of Union forces [1]. In World War II’s aftermath, cities staged huge victory parades—New York’s V-J Day and the 1945 Victory Parade featured thousands of troops and honored returning units; President Dwight D. Eisenhower himself rode in wartime victory parades as a general before becoming president [5] [2].
2. Inaugural reviews: presidents who put military muscle on parade
Inaugurations have been the other frequent occasion for military pageantry. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1953 inaugural review featured roughly 22,000 troops and even a heavy artillery display; his 1957 second inaugural also included 17,000 marchers with nearly 12,000 military personnel [3] [2]. John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural similarly showcased more than 16,000 military personnel and demonstrations of advanced hardware such as the XB-70 program aircraft [6] [7].
3. The post‑Cold War lull and rare modern exceptions
Large national military parades became much less common after the Cold War. The major parade in Washington, D.C., in 1991—the National Victory Celebration for the First Gulf War—was the last large-scale capital parade until events in 2019 and 2025 [4] [3]. Presidents since have occasionally presided over military elements in public events but have not regularly staged grand military pageants in peacetime [8] [1].
4. Trump’s persistence and the 2019 Salute to America / 2025 Army birthday events
Donald Trump advocated for large military parades during and after his first term. His 2019 Salute to America on July 4 included flyovers and armored vehicles on the Mall and represented an effort by a sitting president to revive public displays of military hardware [8] [3]. In 2025, a large Army semi-quincentennial parade coinciding with Flag Day and President Trump’s birthday drew national attention; reporting frames it as an unusual peacetime spectacle but notes historical precedents [5] [4].
5. Why presidents avoid routine military parades—norms, optics, and historical warnings
Scholars and advisers have long cautioned against frequent, ostentatious displays of military force by presidents. Eisenhower refused repeated Soviet-style parades, fearing they would project weakness or militarism, and historians warn that excessive pageantry can politicize the military and blur civilian‑military boundaries [6] [9]. Contemporary reporting also highlights veterans’ mixed reactions to politically proximate parades—some see honor and ceremony, others see politicization and “prop” use of service members [4].
6. What sources cover — and what they don’t
Available sources document presidents who presided over victory reviews (Andrew Johnson, 1865) and heavyweight inaugural reviews (Eisenhower, Kennedy), plus later rare large parades (George H.W. Bush, 1991) and modern attempts (Trump, 2019 and 2025) [1] [2] [4] [3] [5]. Sources do not provide a comprehensive, single roster of every president who ever watched a military contingent march (for example, small-scale parade participation by many presidents at local events isn’t cataloged here)—available sources do not mention a complete list of every president who attended smaller or local military parades (not found in current reporting).
7. Bottom line for readers
Military parades in U.S. history cluster at two clear moments—victory celebrations and inaugurations—with notable examples under Andrew Johnson, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush; recent decades show such spectacles are exceptional and politically fraught [1] [2] [4] [3]. Reporting shows both praise for honoring troops and criticism that such events can serve presidents’ political aims—read any future parade coverage with attention to who frames the event and why [4] [5].