Navy Blue Angels fly over a Fourth of July “Salute to America” event in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 2019. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) By Matt Viser , Olivia George and Dan Lamothe

On June 12, 2024, a day when Joe Biden was still president, running for reelection, and had every expectation of serving a second term, the U.S. Army filed a permit in the hopes of celebrating its 250th birthday on the National Mall the following year. Subscribe for unlimited access to The Post You can cancel anytime. Subscribe

The event would involve as many as 300 soldiers and civilian personnel. There would be a concert by the U.S. Army Band. Four cannons would be fired. Some 120 chairs would be set up.

All told, it would be a fairly modest affair, another event on a summer’s day on

See Full Page