Soldiers are buttoning up 19th-century frocks, slipping into suspenders, and donning tricorne hats to march in the Army’s 250th anniversary parade on June 14.
“It’s a little warm and a little hot, but we get used to it,” said Jay Healy, a staff sergeant who will march in the parade, of his costume – a black and white tricorne hat and red and blue wool jacket replete with silver buttons.
Of the 7,000 soldiers from bases around the world who will appear in the parade, around 1,000 will don historical costumes from some of the United States’ major conflicts – the Revolutionary War, Civil War, both world wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War.
The costumes are rented from the Motion Picture Costume Company – a Los Angeles-based contractor. The company declined to comment to USA TODAY.
With the weather set to hit a high of 83 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms, soldiers in heavy wool coats and thick pants are in for a few hours of baking heat.
But many, including Healy, are already used to period attire from performing nearby in the Army’s Twilight Tattoo – weekly live performances open to the public from late May through July.
The showcase includes short reenactments of some of the Army’s major conflicts through history, acted out in brief and lively form by soldiers dressed in historical wear. Sound is used to full effect, with cannons on the sidelines firing off frequent volleys and soldiers spraying simulated shots as part of the battle scenes. The show also features a musical component, courtesy of several singers accompanied by the Army Blues, an Army jazz band.
“It’s a unique experience,” said Cullen McDannold, a private first class, of the parade. McDannold will likely march in the World War II-era costume he wore for the Twilight Tattoo – head-to-toe Army green and a shoulder patch of the 101st Airborne Division’s eagle crest.
Tevin Gentry, a specialist, geared up for a June 11 Twilight Tattoo performance wearing a War of 1812 uniform, including a high-collared, striped coat, white side-buttoned trousers and a flat-topped leather hat and satchel.
“The jacket is heavy. The pants are very comfortable,” Gentry said.
As of June 11, Gentry hadn’t yet learned if he’d be among the soldiers tapped to march in the massive military parade through Washington, D.C.’s streets that weekend. If he is, he won’t wear the elegant War of 1812 costume – the Army eliminated the War of 1812 and Spanish-American War from the parade after running into trouble with the costuming process.
The July 11 show at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall, located across the river in Virginia from where the parade will take place in Washington, D.C., also had a special appearance from the Golden Knights – Army parachutists who will sail down from the skies during the parade. The troupe’s team leader will present President Donald Trump – whose 79th birthday is the day of the parade – with a folded flag.
“It’s exhilarating,” said Sgt. Justin Drake, one of the Golden Knights who parachuted in the Twilight Tattoo, and is set to jump in the parade. “As you get about 2000 feet above, you can actually hear everyone screaming, and that motivates you to hit that small target.”
As the Twilight Tattoo wrapped up, groups of schoolchildren mobbed soldiers on the field, eager for a photo op holding the model weapons used for the performance. Standing in the sea of people, Private Jonathan Cole wore a Gulf War-era camouflage uniform and held a model machine gun.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Cole of the parade. Cole learned about three weeks ago that he would be one of the soldiers to march, but he won’t be outfitted in the relative comfort of the Gulf War costume. Instead, he’ll either tote a musket as one of the “colonials” or march with the War of 1812 group “with the funny hats.”
To Healy, his costume feels like “pajamas.” Healy auditioned directly into the Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, a unique unit that reenacts military music of the period wearing uniforms dating to around 1784, including powdered white wigs.
“This is what they would have worn,” said Healy of his costume.
For Healy, who grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, the birthplace of the American Revolution, participating in the July 14 parade holds special significance.
“Every single time I get to put this on… I always think about who wore this stuff before me, and it almost connects me back to them,” he said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wool coats and 19th century hats: Parade costume celebrate Army history
