By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump paid tribute to fallen service members during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, in an address that honored the “great, great warriors” yet also briefly veered into politics as he boasted of a nation he is “fixing after a long and hard four years.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on President Donald Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned.
The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th anniversary festival on the National Mall and the newly added element — a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed.
Renovations are coming to the Association of the U.S. Army’s headquarters in Courthouse, bringing sidewalk closures starting this week.
Pedestrian traffic on a portion of sidewalk near 2425 Wilson Blvd will be closed as the 32-week project gets underway. To perform structural repairs and improve below-ground waterproofing, work crews will be temporarily removing the sidewalk, planters and the building’s accessibility ramp.
The parade at next week’s presidential inauguration is scheduled to feature a nonprofit based in Clarendon.
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, known as TAPS, was selected to participate in the parade to be held down Pennsylvania Avenue next Monday, Jan. 20. The organization works to support families of fallen service members.
By TARA COPP Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Marine Corps in a ceremony at the commandant’s headquarters on Monday presented their highest noncombat medal to the parents of Cpl. Spencer Collart, who died last year after his V-22 Osprey crashed in Australia.
The Arlington County Board is considering a proposal for a childcare center on the third floor of the newly constructed Saint Timothy and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church (STSA) in Green Valley.
However, the proposal, introduced by the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) in April, has raised concerns among nearby residents worried that the childcare center’s size and rooftop playground will create traffic and noise issues.
Hungry soldiers have a new place to dine at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
Fort Myer’s new dining facility held its grand opening on Wednesday after three years of renovations, providing a modernized place to eat for more than 4,000 active duty and Department of Defense civilians on base.
Arlington’s Congressman split his votes on security funding bills for U.S. allies over the weekend.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) voted for bills to aid the defense of Ukraine, which is under Russian invasion, and Taiwan, which is under the threat of Chinese military action. He voted against defense aid for Israel, which is battling Hamas in a bloody conflict that has killed scores of civilians on both sides.
The Military Children World Expo 2024 is coming to Pentagon City to honor and celebrate the resilience of military children.
The event — scheduled for Saturday, April 27 at the Pentagon City mall (1100 S. Hayes Street) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. — is free to the public and promises a lineup of family-friendly activities, such as face painting, art and sculpture exhibitions, musical performances, contests, workshops and scavenger hunts, per the expo’s website.
A local nonprofit has formed a new partnership to help reduce military spouse unemployment.
The American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA), a nonprofit military financial solutions provider headquartered at Arlington’s Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, is collaborating with the Department of Defense’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) to bring the military spouse unemployment rate down by connecting spouses with one of the 700 MSEP employers.
A senior at Washington-Liberty High School has been awarded as a “2024 Military Child of the Year.”
Taylor Walsh, the daughter of a Space Force colonel and an Air Force veteran, has been recognized for her resiliency. Operation Homefront, a nonprofit that supports military families, said that despite the frequent deployments, family separations and other hardships of being in a military family, Walsh continues to excel.
Michelle Logan and her partner Jenna Burnett celebrated their moving in together and the end of Pride month last July by displaying a rainbow flag in front of their house.
But two months later, while looking out the window of their Penrose home one morning, the couple noticed the flag had vanished. All that remained was a mangled flag pole.
