in Military, Politics

Pete Hegseth Celebrates The U.S. Army’s 250th Birthday: ‘There Is No 1776 Without 1775’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led the national tribute as the U.S. Army marked its 250th birthday, honoring two and a half centuries of American grit, sacrifice, and battlefield excellence.

In a public statement, Hegseth emphasized the Army’s founding in 1775 as the indispensable beginning of the American Revolution—arguing that the courage to declare independence in 1776 was only possible because patriots were willing to fight for it first.

“There is no 1776 without 1775,” Hegseth declared. “Without the Continental Army standing up against tyranny, there would be no free republic to celebrate today.”

Hegseth—himself a veteran—paid homage to the generations of American soldiers who followed: those who fought at Antietam and Normandy, in Korea and Vietnam, and in the deserts of the Middle East. He praised today’s Army as a force built on honor, strength, and the unwavering belief that freedom must be defended.

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“It’s because of strong men and women who stand up and are willing to fight for it,” Hegseth began. “There is no 1776 without 1775, and that’s why the president is right to celebrate it today. The haters can hate, let ’em. We don’t care. This is celebrating 25o years of freedom and strength.”

“Do you know why I joined the military in large part?” Hegseth asked then. “Because of a parade that went down Main Street of Wanamingo, Minnesota — in southern Minnesota — that, as a young kid, my parents used to take me to and I would see the dozen vets walking down the street. And I’d look up and say, ‘Man, look at what they did. Maybe someday I could do that.’”

“You know, imagine the effect of the American people seeing the hardware and the men and women, and the parades of who we are and how we defend freedom — we believe that will motivate. We believe that supports recruitment. That supports morale. That supports the general sense and the feeling that President Trump talks about all the time that America’s back! And we’re here to stay. And our allies know that and our enemies are on notice.”

The U.S. Army also posted a video celebrating the milestone, saying that the service branch’s mission — even 250 years later — was still the same, and could be boiled down to just three words: “This we’ll defend.”

The message from the Pentagon was clear: America’s Army doesn’t just remember history—it makes it.