America celebrated its 250th anniversary Saturday with an epic armada of tall ships in New York Harbor. AP Photo\/Seth Wenig<\/p>\n
America celebrated its 250th anniversary Saturday with an epic armada of tall ships in New York Harbor<\/a> and a parade of fighter jets overhead, as millions lined every inch of shoreline to take in the stunning showcase of military might and international alliances.<\/p>\n The roughly 45 tall ships from across the globe \u2014 with their majestic masts, rigging and white sails unfurled \u2014 traveled around the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River and were followed by an awesome show of aerial dominance that included a B-52 Stratofortress and a B-2 bomber.<\/p>\n Patrouille de France, the French Air Force\u2019s acrobatic teams, left the perfect July 4th impression \u2014 a trail of red, white and blue smoke that lingered in the sky like a \u00adgigantic American flag.<\/p>\n \u201cI think everybody needs to remember how we got here and what this day means,\u201d said Judy Dur of Florida,\u00a0who flew in with her husband Philip, a retired Navy rear admiral, to witness the Fourth of July spectacle.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a good reminder of what everybody\u2019s sacrificed to get us to where we are today,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The host flagship was the USCGC Eagle, a 295-foot, three-masted barque operated by the US Coast Guard, while the US Navy Blue Angels led the international aerial review.<\/p>\n Four military aircraft fly in formation above the New York City skyline. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n Dozens of smaller ships pushed the total number of vessels in the nautical parade to over 80. An estimated 20,000 sailors, about 10 times the number that visit during an average New York City Fleet Week, participated in the event, according to Sail4th.<\/p>\n Americans flew from across the country to be part of the event that stretched from Staten Island\u2019s Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan, undeterred by scorching temps that hit a high of 95.<\/p>\n JD Vance used his address aboard the USS Kearsarge to call for unity. Getty Images<\/p>\n
And there were warships too \u2014 including the 1,092 feet-long US Nimitz, anchored in the Hudson River.<\/p>\n