Sunset Parade

{{Short description|Military ceremony in Washington DC}} {{Distinguish|Friday Evening Parade}} {{Infobox recurring event |name = Sunset Parade |native_name = |native_name_lang = |logo = |logo_alt = |logo_caption = |logo_size = |image = File:Sunset Parade - US Marin Corps.jpg |image_size = 250px |alt = |caption = |status = Active |genre =  |date =  |begins =  |ends =  |frequency = Weekly during summer |venue = |location = Washington, D.C., United States |coordinates =  |country = |years_active =  |first =  |founder_name =  |last = {{End date|2025|08|05}}<ref name="sched">{{cite web |title=Tuesday Sunset Parade at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial |url=https://www.barracks.marines.mil/Parade-Information/#tab/tuesday-sunset-parades |website=barracks.marines.mil |publisher=U.S. Marine Corps |accessdate=June 13, 2025}}</ref> |prev = |next = ''To be announced''<ref name="sched"/> |participants = |attendance = |capacity = |area = |budget = |activity = |leader_name = |patron = |organised =  |filing = |people = |member = |sponsor = |website = {{URL|https://www.barracks.marines.mil/Parades/Sunset-Parade}} |current = |footnotes = }}

The '''Sunset Parade''' is a military parade performed by the United States Marine Corps at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It is very loosely based on the ''Landing Party Manual''{{efn|name="LPM"}} and is executed on Tuesday evenings in the summer, involving approximately 200 personnel drawn from the garrison of Marine Barracks Washington.

==History== In 1911, Marine Corps recruit training moved out of Marine Barracks Washington ("8th and I"), and the remnant garrison posted there turned its attention to ceremonial duties.<ref name="miller">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=John |title="Oldest Post of the Corps" Celebrates 200 Years |url=https://www.barracks.marines.mil/Portals/74/Pass%20in%20Review%20k/Pass%20in%20Review%20p/Special%20Bicentennial%20Edition.pdf |work=Pass in Review |publisher=United States Marine Corps |date=June 2001}}</ref> Major Lemuel Shepherd organized a weekly afternoon parade during the summer months in 1934 based on the drill of the ''Landing Party Manual''.{{efn|name="LPM"|The ''Landing Party Manual'' is a deprecated tactical manual that "contains instructions for Naval landing parties and emergency ground defense force units".<ref>{{cite book |title=Landing Party Manual |url=https://archive.org/stream/landingpartymanu00unit#mode/2up|date=1950 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>}}<ref name="miller"/> The Marine Corps performed a pass in review for President Dwight Eisenhower during dedication ceremonies of the Marine Corps War Memorial in 1954. The following year, guard mounting at the memorial became a weekly occurrence, held at 4:30 p.m.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Admire |first1=John |title=The Evening Parade: A History of the Marine Corps' Most Famous Ceremony |date=1982 |publisher=Old Dominion University |page=57}}</ref> thumb|right|A portion of a 2018 Sunset Parade at the Lincoln Memorial. [[File:Sunset_Parade_USMC-120814-M-HZ646-130.jpg|thumb|A Master Gunnery Sergeant pictured during the 2012 Sunset Parade.]] [[File:Sunset Parade 130625-M-KS211-040.jpg|thumb|Commodore Alok Bhatnagar (right) of the Indian Navy is received as guest of honor by Major General Vincent R. Stewart at the 2013 Sunset Parade.]]

A joint evening drill with the British Royal Marines in 1956 at the Bermuda Searchlight Tattoo convinced Marine officers that they would achieve a more dramatic effect by moving the afternoon parade to the evening hours and performing it under spotlights.<ref name="miller"/> They implemented the change that year, resulting in the Friday Evening Parade.<ref name="scott"/> Meanwhile, the drill formerly performed during the afternoon parade was moved to Tuesday evenings and its location changed to the Marine Corps War Memorial, replacing the more modest guard mount that had occurred there since 1955.<ref name="miller"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dukeson |first1=Nadine |title=A Marine reflects at traditional Sunset Parade |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-36851741/a-marine-reflects-at-traditional-sunset-parade |accessdate=November 29, 2018 |work=BBC News |date=July 21, 2016}}</ref> The afternoon parade is now called the Sunset Parade; it was temporarily moved in 2018 to the Lincoln Memorial<ref name="miller"/><ref name="hendrix"/> as the War Memorial undergoes refurbishment.<ref name="hendrix">{{cite news |last1=Hendrix |first1=Steve |title=Precision, patriotism and a new stage for a beloved Marine tradition |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/06/11/precision-patriotism-and-a-new-stage-for-a-beloved-marine-tradition/?noredirect=on |accessdate=November 28, 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=June 11, 2018}}</ref>

==Organization==

===Order of ceremony=== As of 2018 the Sunset Parade, which lasts approximately one hour, takes place at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday evenings in June, July, and August.<ref>{{cite news |title=D.C. area's best-kept secret: A sunset parade at Iwo Jima |url=https://wtop.com/news/2013/06/dc-areas-best-kept-secret-a-sunset-parade-at-iwo-jima/ |accessdate=November 28, 2018 |work=WTOP (AM) |date=June 7, 2013}}</ref>

The parade begins with a demonstration performance by "The Commandant's Own" Drum and Bugle Corps. This is followed by a march on of the participating units, the advance of the national and Marine Corps colors to "You're a Grand Old Flag", the performance of "Star Spangled Banner", a demonstration drill by the U.S. Marine Silent Drill Platoon, and a pass in review for a guest of honor set to "Semper Fidelis" and the "Marines' Hymn". It concludes with "Taps", the retirement of the colors to the trio section of the "National Emblem March", and a march off.<ref name="scott">{{cite book |last1=Keller |first1=Scott |title=Marine Pride: A Salute to America's Elite Fighting Force |url=https://archive.org/details/marinepridesalut0000kell |url-access=registration |date=2004 |publisher=Citadel Press |isbn=0806526033 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/marinepridesalut0000kell/page/39 39–40]}}</ref>

===Units and personnel=== The parade involves approximately 200 personnel. Participating units include "The Commandant's Own", the Silent Drill Platoon, the U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard, Alpha Company of the 8th and I garrison, and Bravo Company of the 8th and I garrison.<ref name="scott"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Due to ongoing construction... |url=https://www.barracks.marines.mil/Parades/Sunset-Parade/ |website=Marine Barracks Washington |publisher=United States Marine Corps |accessdate=November 28, 2018}}</ref>

===Reception=== When the Sunset Parade is held at the Marine Corps Memorial, a pre-parade reception is conducted for the guest of honor at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Karcher |first1=Mary |title=The Architects of Parade Excellence |journal=Leatherneck |date=March 2016 |volume=99 |issue=3 |url=https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/2016/03/architects-parade-excellence}}</ref>

==See also== * Beating Retreat

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DaLwRmhWlY Video of the Sunset Parade on YouTube] {{Authority control}}

Category:United States Marine Corps Category:Organized events in Washington, D.C. Category:Recurring events established in 1934 Category:Military parades in the United States