The Marine Corps Evening Parade
performed on July 3, 2020 is a
one hour and fifteen minute must experience performance of music and precision marching.
It features "The President's Own" United States Marine Band,
"The Commandant's Own" The United States Marine Drum and
Bugle Corps, the Marine Corps Color Guard, the Marine Corps
Silent Drill Platoon, Ceremonial Marchers, and Cpl. Chesty
XV, the official mascot of Marine Barracks Washington.
Defense Media Activity Courtesy
Video Edit by USA Patriotism!
The ceremony starts at 8:45 p.m., beginning with a concert by the United States Marine Band. The Evening Parade, held every Friday evening during the summer, has become a universal symbol of the professionalism, discipline, and Esprit de Corps of the United States Marines.
Evening of the Parade Information
Guests with
reservations are admitted beginning at 7:00 p.m. and should
arrive no later than 7:45 p.m. Guests with reservations that
arrive after 8:00 p.m. are not guaranteed their reserved
seating. There is no charge for admission. At the time the
reservation is confirmed, a numbered admission gate is
assigned to which guests should report on the evening of the
parade. At 8:00 p.m., guests without reservations who are
waiting in the General Admission line outside the Main Gate
of the Barracks are offered the unclaimed seats. As a
security precaution, all guests entering the Barracks pass
through magnetic detection devices. No weapons of any kind,
including knives, are allowed inside the Barracks. No food
or beverages are permitted with the exception of water and
baby food/bottles.
History of the Evening Parade
The "Oldest Post
of the Corps," was established in 1801, and has performed
military reviews and ceremonies since its founding. The
present-day Evening Parade was first conducted on July 5,
1957.
The presidential inaugurations and specific
occasions prompted the parades and ceremonies conducted at
the Barracks during the early 1900s. The traditional
reveille and morning muster parades were conducted with
varying frequency at the post, and they eventually resulted
in more formalized ceremonies. In 1934, when MajGen. John H.
Russell, Jr. was the 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps,
the Barracks initiated its first season of regularly
scheduled weekly parades. The parades were conducted in the
late afternoon, usually on Mondays or Thursdays and varied
from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The parades were commonly referred to as
"Sunset Parades." The ceremonies were conducted from April
to November, concluding the week of the Marine Corps
Birthday, November 10.
The basic format for today's
Evening Parade was similar to that envisioned and directed
by Col. Emile P. Moses and Maj. Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr.,
Marine Barracks' Commanding Officer and Executive Officer
respectively, in 1934. Col. Moses and Maj. Shepherd (who
later became the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps),
sighted the symmetry of the parade deck: Bordered on its
long axis by graceful maple trees and shrubs fronting
officer's row and the barracks' administrative offices, to
the north of the picturesque home of the Commandant, and to
the south the Marine Band Hall made famous by the immortal
John Philip Sousa. They conceived a balanced pageant that
would perfectly match the splendor of its old fashioned
setting. The shadowy arcade was envisioned by Major
Shepherd, "as wings to a stage, a runway from which Marines
would march to their places on the parade deck."
Using the resplendent setting of the Barracks, wistful
imagination and the Marines' flare for showmanship, the
parades were to be a showcase for the ceremonial prowess of
Marines and the musical eminence of the U.S. Marine Band,
which had achieved international renown under the premier
military band leader of all time, John Philip Sousa.
