The Director Strategic Plans and Policy J-5, Joint Staff, Lieutenant General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. of the U.S. Marine Corps, selected Tim to be the Guest of Honor at the reception and Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., on July 7, 2017.  The Evening Parade takes place on Friday evenings in the summer months and attendance is by invitation only.  The one-hour and fifteen-minute performance involves dozens of flawlessly performing Marines marching as one to “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and “The Commandant’s Own” United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps – and the twirling and throwing of rifles by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon.  The marching and musical units, who are from the ‘Oldest Post of the Corps”, have been paying tribute to those whose “uncommon valor was a common virtue” in the Evening Parade at Marine Barracks at 8th & I since July 1957.  The Evening Parade was a spectacular event and has become a universal symbol of the professionalism, discipline, and Esprit de Corps of the United States Marines, and Tim was deeply honored to be a part of it.

Since many family members and friends, including several of our Marine Fellows and their spouses, attended the Friday Evening Parade, we arranged for a group visit the next day to tour the National Museum of the Marine Corps and see the progress of the Museum expansion project.  We were able to view the new Combat Art Gallery and Studio, the expanded Children’s Education Suite and see the new IMAX Giant Movie Screen.  It was exciting to see the progress, but it will still be several years before the Museum is completed with its new galleries and exhibits.  The day concluded with a fun evening of dining at one of our favorite restaurants in the area.

(See Additional Photos in ARCHIVES Section.)