Center House Association - "1957 - The First Evening Parade"

Center House Association
Marine Barracks — Washington, D.C.

The 50th Anniversary Celebration of the First Evening Parade
(Continued)

Parades at the Barracks

Parades, or formal guard mounts have been a part of Barracks life since its founding in 1801. Full dress Friday Sunset Parades at 1730 are reputed to have begun just after World War I, and the Tuesday dress parade at the Marine Corps War Memorial (the "Iwo Jima Monument" in Arlington, VA) began in September of 1956.

In the mid-1950's, there were other parades as well, primarily due to the fact that President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a former Army General, loved mililtary ceremonies. Whenever a visiting head of State arrived, he was greeted at the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) Terminal at at the north terminal area of National (now Ronald Reagan) Airport by a joint honor guard consisting of the Army Band, and a ceremonial company of troops - a platoon from each of the armed services. From there a motorcade would take the dignitary across Memorial Bridge, then east on Constitution Avenue, where he would be met at 15th street (at the Washington Monument) by an all-service Parade contingent (the Marine Band, and a ceremonial battalion consisting of two companies from each of the armed services). The Parade would proceed East to 12th, North on 12th through the federal triangle to Pennsylvania Avenue, and then West to the front of the White House, where the dignitary would be greeted at the front door by the President. In early 1958, the route was shortened (north on 15th to Pennsylvania, then west to the White House). These Parades (with mixed armed services and police cordons the whole route) were held at least once every month or so.

The Motivation For the Evening Parade

No definitive history has been located which pinpoints the motivating factor underlying the first Evening Parade. However, for those who served at the Barracks at the time, the prevailing "scuttlebutt" was as follows:

The then-new Barracks CO, Col. Leonard F. Chapman, following Barracks SOP, took the Barracks ceremonial schedule to the then-new Commandant, Randolph McCall Pate, for approval. General Pate told Col. Chapman that he had been warned by previous Commandants to try to find a way to avoid having to entertain guests for hours on end following the Sunset Parades. The problem was due to the fact that the guests usually arrived for the 1730 parade at 1630-1700, and were unfed until after the parade, thus making it necessary to have cocktails, a buffet dinner and dessert, which usually lasted until late in the night.

Col Chapman told the Commandant that while he could anticipate some problems, the answer was relatively simple - have a later parade and invite the guests for cocktails before the parade, and then see the guests off to the parade, at which time the Commandant's duties as host would end.

Planning For the Evening Parade - Initial Resistance

At the staff meeting on Monday the following week, Col. Chapman announced to his staff consisting of Joe Lepp (S-1), Larry Marousek (S-3), Bud Schmid (S-4), and the ceremonial company commanders Bob Lyons (CGC) and John Haggerty (MCI) that he wanted an Evening Parade. The initial question was "at what time?" and Col. Chapman replied "under the lights." One of those in attendance said that a "lengthy exchange" followed, and that "if you had a score card, it would have read one vote for (guess who?) and all the rest against the idea." Major Schmidt was vehement in his objections, saying that the logistics of night-lighting would be a nightmare, as no one could anticipate how much lighting would be needed or where it could be placed until detailed testing was done.

It was either Major Schmid or Major Marousek who finally responded "Colonel, it just can't be done." and Col. Chapman, blinking his eyes and twitching his neck, responded with a thin smile, "The more you say it can't be done, the more I'm convinced it can be done. If there are no more comments, gentlemen, let's adjourn and begin the planning process today."

To Be Continued . . . .

Next —Planning and Preparations for the Parade —View it by clicking here.

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Center House Association
Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.

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