“Party and Parade,” by IP attorney and author Timothy Trainer
We’ve arrived at an interesting place in the history of the United States. As Washington, D.C., prepares for a great parade to celebrate the U.S. Army’s birthday and founding on June 14, 1775, the city prepares for the birthday celebration of the sitting president, whose birthday coincides with that of the U.S. Army.
The White House occupant wants a parade with soldiers, tanks, and other accoutrements projecting strength and power. What an irony given that the White House occupant allowed his father to use the power of money to evade service in uniform at a time when his peers were called upon to serve. It seems that we have now become accustomed to and receptive of older, privileged men who easily wrap themselves in the flag and boast of their patriotism and their manhood despite the lengths to which they or their families would go to avoid service while others served in harm’s way. As Donald Trump Heads to Vietnam, Here’s How He Used Bone Spurs to Avoid War, Military Service – Newsweek. It’s so easy to walk and talk with bravado years after one needs to be concerned about serving in uniform.
The desire and need to engage in self-absorption and expend millions of taxpayer dollars for a military parade runs counter to what many understand as service and sacrifice to and for the country. While a military parade might quench the thirst of many, it feels wrong to this scrivener of a certain age. It is counter to being raised by those who lived, suffered, sacrificed and survived the depression, World War II and the immediate aftermath of those years. Americans exercised a degree of humility. Americans seemed to require that individuals earn respect from others as it was not freely given. Americans seemed to appreciate modesty from those who were accomplished over naked bravado.
Celebrating the U.S. Army’s birthday has never been a “thing” in my memory. Thinking back to my youth, it seems everything was more restrained, subdued and understated. Surrounded by the army for the first two decades of life, uniforms provided the “substance” of a soldier’s service and achievements but talk of one’s service-related exploits was reserved for the select few and in select settings, not the public.
If we are to celebrate the U.S. Army’s birthday, then we should look carefully, intently at the uniform worn by those who have served and are serving. We need to recognize the sacrifices, pain and suffering of each soldier who wears a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, an Air Medal and other medals earned by serving in harm’s way.
The birthday of any branch of service is not nearly as important as recognition of those who have served. The ultimate question about a parade to celebrate the U.S. Army is what “gift” should be bestowed upon the service? Are we celebrating the men and women who have served and are serving or is this a display to feed one man’s ego? In view of the fact that the man who has decided to have this parade claims to have millions and billions in personal wealth, wouldn’t it be a more befitting if the funds required for a parade were spent as a gift to the Army to pay medical professionals and care givers to attend to the needs of those who, through their service, suffer from service-related medical conditions and disabilities.
It is hard to celebrate the U.S. Army’s birthday when the day appears to underscore wasteful spending, misplaced priorities and bogus patriotism.
About the Timothy Trainer: Writing books is a passion for attorney Timothy Trainer, who for more than three decades focused on intellectual property issues in his day job. He has worked in government agencies and in the private sector and his assignments have taken him to 60 countries around the world.
Tim found time to pen a few non-fiction tomes, including his first book, Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; the 15th edition was published in 2022. Thomson Reuters’ Aspatore Books published Tim’s next title in 2015, Potato Chips to Computer Chips: The War on Fake Stuff.
Fiction was a genre he always wanted to try. In 2019, Pendulum Over the Pacific, was released by Joshua Tree Publishing. “This political intrigue story is set in Tokyo and Washington, D.C., and centers on trade tensions between the U.S. and Japan in the late 1980s,” Tim explains.
In 2023, his first series hit bookstores: The China Connection.
In 2025, he published the sequel, The China Factor, which ranked #63 on the Amazon Asian Literature list in May.
Learn more about this book and Tim’s writing process when he’s interviewed by author Jeffrey James Higgins’ for his new Inkandescent podcast and video show: Elaine’s Literary Salon.
Learn about Tim’s work and books: timothytrainer.com
