President Trump is hosting a parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army today, bringing tanks and soldiers to the streets of Washington, D.C., for the capital's first major military parade in more than three decades.

The military parade to mark the Army's 250th anniversary and its convergence with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday are combining to create a peacetime outlier in U.S. history. Yet it still reflects global traditions that serve a range of political and cultural purposes.

Millions of American soldiers have marched in military parades since the Civil War, which marked the tradition as a fundamental ritual of American unity.

NPR's A Martinez speaks with Peter Feaver, political science professor at Duke University, about the history and symbolism of military parades in the U.S. ahead of Saturday's event in Washington ...

Washington, D.C. is gearing up for one of the largest military parades in recent history as the U.S. Army marks its 250th anniversary this Saturday.