It is very loosely based on the Landing Party Manual[a] and is executed on Tuesday evenings in the summer, involving approximately 200 personnel drawn from the garrison of Marine Barracks Washington.

[2] Major Lemuel Shepherd organized a weekly afternoon parade during the summer months in 1934 based on the drill of the Landing Party Manual.

The following year, guard mounting at the memorial became a weekly occurrence, held at 4:30 p.m.[4] A joint evening drill with the British Royal Marines in 1956 at the Bermuda Searchlight Tattoo convinced Marine officers that they would achieve a more dramatic effect by moving the afternoon parade to the evening hours and performing it under spotlights.

[5] Meanwhile, the drill formerly performed during the afternoon parade was moved to Tuesday evenings and its location changed to the Marine Corps War Memorial, replacing the more modest guard mount that had occurred there since 1955.

[7] As of 2018 the Sunset Parade, which lasts approximately one hour, takes place at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday evenings in June, July, and August.