A retired major general used a saber taken from a British cavalry officer during the Revolutionary War to cut a birthday cake in celebration of he United States' 250th.

Six residents in a Color Guard lowered the Grand Union flag and raised the Stars and Stripes. A Virginia delegate read the Declaration of Independence aloud, just as it was presented to the Continental Congress 250 years earlier.

That was Sunday at Vinson Hall Retirement Community on Old Dominion Drive, where the nonprofit's approximately 400 residents gathered to celebrate America's semiquincentennial. Most are retired military officers or federal leaders.

The ceremony began at 3:30 p.m., timed to the hour the Declaration was presented to Congress in 1776, according to Vinson Hall. Extreme heat forced organizers to move much of the program indoors; the flag-changing ceremony was recorded earlier that morning and projected on a screen for the audience.

Maj. Gen. John Herrling, described by Vinson Hall as its newest and youngest flag officer, handled the cake-cutting honors with the recovered British saber. Virginia Del. Rip Sullivan (D-Fairfax), a McLean resident of more than 50 years who serves on the board of the Navy Marine Coast Guard Residence Foundation, read the Declaration's opening section. Ten Vinson Hall residents then took turns completing the document.

Sherm Eagan, president of the Vinson Hall Residents' Association, addressed his neighbors directly.

"You wrote a blank check to our nation, cashable up to and including that last full measure of devotion," Eagan said. "For that, we salute and thank you. You are the heritage we revere at Vinson Hall."

The program also included the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. Afterward, residents shared a champagne toast and cake, followed by happy hour and a televised viewing of the national Independence Day fireworks.

Vinson Hall opened in 1969 as a project of the Navy Officers' Wives' Club of Washington, D.C. The nonprofit continuing care community houses retired service members from the Defense Department, FBI, CIA, Secret Service, and Foreign Service alongside sea service officers.

Upcoming McLean community events

  • Thursday, July 9 — One Hit Wonderers, McLean Community Center Summer Concert Series, 7 p.m., McLean Central Park Amphitheatre. Free.
  • Thursday, July 16 — EU (Experience Unlimited), Summer Concert Series, 7 p.m., McLean Central Park Amphitheatre. Free.
  • Friday, July 17, through Sunday, August 2 — 1776, McLean Community Players, Alden Theatre. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets $25.
  • Every Wednesday in July — Open Game Nights, Old Firehouse Center, 1440 Chain Bridge Road, 6:30–9 p.m.
  • Thursday, July 23 — Uptown, Summer Concert Series, 7 p.m., McLean Central Park Amphitheatre. Free.
  • Thursday, July 30 — Koo Koo, Summer Concert Series, 7 p.m., McLean Central Park Amphitheatre. Free.