ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - From a young age, Ed Anderson always knew he wanted to serve his country.

“My father was a Korean War veteran, so a lot of my socializing in my younger days were with him and his buddies,” he said.

On Saturday, a massive military parade is planned in Washington D.C. It’s the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army, and it also coincides with President Donald Trump’s birthday.

The event is expected to cost between $25 and $45 million. Anderson said that money could be spent elsewhere.

“Our troops are not political pawns and that’s what he has tried to turn the military into. This parade is just a further amplification of the lack of service and duty that he has,” said Anderson.

RELATED: Thousands expected at weekend anti-Trump protests around Georgia

Donna Rowe, who lives in metro Atlanta, served as an Army nurse and captain in Vietnam. She traveled to D.C. to attend an induction ceremony for her fallen husband.

“There are barricades everywhere. They’re not letting you into certain sections of the mall. They’ve got roads blocked everywhere,” she said.

While the parade is happening in D.C, simultaneously, Atlanta will be holding its own version of the nationwide “No Kings” protest.

“This overreach of power, we want to go over the fact that we don’t have kings here in America,” said Laura Judge with Indivisible North Metro Atlanta.

RELATED:‘No Kings’ protest planned in metro Atlanta, across state, nation on Saturday | What to know

Rowe feels the parade is something the nation should do.

“I think it’s important that the country realizes that the United States Army and the military have been protecting our freedoms for over 250 years,” said Rowe.

“America’s muscle is best demonstrated by the unity as we as a people show. We know that America has a strong military. We don’t need to show others that we have a strong military,” said Anderson.

Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.