We really never have had a "show of force" parade - that we leave to the Soviets and their imitators. We have had victory parades and we have had "see our boys off" parades but since the late '40s, we have steadily reduced our image and attachment to our military folks to the point that we reduce them to being a cypher. We sort of celebrate the Special Forces in a sort of cartoon image in movies but the real young people who bear all of the real responsibilities and hardships of service are ignored. We are at the point now where the numbers of good quality young people being recruited are dropping off and the army is seriously pulling young women into the ranks of combat forces. Which is idiocy, but that's how desperate things have gotten.
America has always dreaded "large standing armies" but what we have is a real army of the people and America could really stand looking at who we really are and how good we are. And our young people could really appreciate being cheered by the people they have volunteered to protect. And Russia and China and North Korea and Iran should have a look too and maybe have second thoughts about provoking these fine young fighters.
Right after the First Gulf War, they had a military parade in Washington DC and I went there to cheer the troops and I was amazed at how little the average audience member knew about our military forces and equipment. So I played "parade narrator" for them and called out who the units were and what types of vehicles and weapons were going by and I was startled by the interest and enthusiasm of those people in those things. I was also a bit wistful they no one had ever done something like that for us, the guys that fought so hard and so long in Vietnam.
It would be a good thing - we should do it.