U.S. Army celebrates 250th anniversary in Philadelphia

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As the U.S. Army hosted its biggest 250th anniversary celebration with Saturday’s military parade in Washington, D.C., the Greater Philadelphia region also commemorated the armed forces’ history.

The three-day-long celebration kicked off Friday in Valley Forge, Montgomery County, and on Saturday, a range of free, family-friendly activities and ceremonies took place at Independence Mall.

During Saturday’s celebrations, 250 recruits from the region were sworn in, representing the years of the Army’s history.

“The Army birthday is about legacy, too, but it’s also about the future, and that’s what the recruiters provide, is the next generation for the army, so that we can endure for another 250 years,” said Lt. Col. Joe Gainey, the battalion commander for the Mid-Atlantic recruiting battalion, which on average recruits more than 2,000 people annually in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

Gainey said recruiters often tell their stories, and educate potential recruits about the many opportunities that exist within the Army. He said that, in total, there are more than 150 military occupational specialties that recruits can choose from.

“I think a lot of times people think just combat arms, like the infantry and the shooting and the tanks and all those different things,” he said, adding that there are “so many other opportunities, medical, dentists, you’ve got mechanics, you’ve got the tech world out there with the drones and engineers and military intel. There’s so many opportunities out there for people.”

Gainey, whose father was a sergeant, said he’s been in the Army for more than 22 years.

“Regardless of where you come from, if you have an interest or a dream or a goal, the Army can most likely help you achieve that,” he said. “And whether that’s just serving your first term to take advantage of some of the opportunity, or it’s making a career out of it, either way, the Army can benefit you.”

Throughout the day, several speakers, including Mayor Cherelle Parker, addressed the crowd.

“Philadelphia is proud to be the birthplace of the United States Army where Gen. Washington transformed the scrappy group of patriots into a force that secured our independence,” she said.

Attendees said they showed up Saturday for a variety of reasons.

Shaun Frankel, 38, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said this was just one stop on his tour of American history. He recently visited Concord, Massachuesets, where the first conflicts of the Revolutionary War happened.

Nahid Solamny, a retired grammar teacher from New York City, said she came “for the flag, for America, for other ceremonies of freedom.”

Among the attendees were numerous veterans, including Ed Lykins, of Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, who said he appreciated the recognition of “what happened here and what’s continuing to happen across the United States.”

Saturday’s events included an opening ceremony with remarks by local elected officials and Army leaders, a military-civilian parade at 1:20 p.m., a birthday ceremony and cake cutting, an enlistment ceremony and an Army band concert in the evening.

Sunday’s line-up includes a service at Christ Church in Philadelphia, and a wreath laying ceremony at Washington Square.

The U.S. Army is older than the country

The Army originated as the Continental Army in Philadelphia on June 14, 1775, more than a year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The Continental Congress formed the army after a series of skirmishes, including a conflict in April 1775 in which British soldiers fired on colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.

George Washington became the first commander in chief, designated to lead the troops in unifying the colonies and combating the British.

During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army faced many challenges, including communication issues, lack of formal training and high turnover. Throughout the course of the war, 231,000 people fought in the Army, but there were usually just 48,000 soldiers in their ranks at any given time. Colonial militias accounted for 145,000 other soldiers and also played a key role in the United States’ victory.

By the Revolutionary War’s end, 6,800 of the Army’s forces died in combat, at least 8,000 died after being taken as prisoners of war and approximately 17,000 died of disease.

Making the modern U.S. military

The Continental Army was the first of six national military branches.

Soon after the Army’s formation, the Navy and Marine Corps were established, on Oct. 13 and Nov. 10, 1775, respectively.

The Coast Guard was established in 1790, and the Air Force was formed on Sept. 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of that year.

The latest addition is Space Force, formed on Dec. 20, 2019.