{"id":138170,"date":"2024-03-17T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=138170"},"modified":"2024-03-19T21:51:27","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T21:51:27","slug":"new-yorks-fighting-69th-leads-saint-patricks-day-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=138170","title":{"rendered":"New York\u2019s Fighting 69th Leads Saint Patrick\u2019s Day Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Soldiers with the New York National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 42nd Infantry Division, lead the annual New York City Saint Patrick\u2019s Day Parade March 16, 2024. The \u201cFighting 69th\u201d Infantry has led the world\u2019s largest Saint Patrick\u2019s Day Parade since 1851. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Warren W. Wright Jr., 42nd Infantry Division Public Affairs)
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NEW YORK – For the 173rd year in a row, Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, \u201cFighting 69th\u201d Infantry Regiment, marched at the head of New York City\u2019s Saint Patrick\u2019s Day Parade \u2014 the largest in the world.<\/p>\n

It marked the return of the entire battalion to the front lines of the parade, following their deployment to the Horn of Africa last year. The parade also marked the first and last Saint Patrick\u2019s Day celebrations on the streets of New York for some of the Fighting 69th Soldiers.<\/p>\n

Master Sgt. Robert Walsh, an infantryman assigned to the 69th\u2019s Delta Company, joined the unit in the late 1990s. He estimated he\u2019s marched in 25 parades. After 38 years of military service, Walsh is retiring, making this year\u2019s parade his last.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to miss the Soldiers,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m going to miss having that new guy in the platoon that this is their first Saint Patrick\u2019s Day and seeing the experiences that they\u2019re seeing for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for the 800 Soldiers of the Fighting 69th, there is a lot to experience.<\/p>\n

The parade day begins with a 6 a.m. toast of Irish whiskey at the historic Lexington Avenue Armory.<\/p>\n

Soldiers add sprigs of boxwood to their uniforms, emulating their Irish American predecessors who fought at the Civil War battle of Fredericksburg. The unit\u2019s officers receive blackthorn fighting sticks, imported from Ireland and considered the mark of an Irish leader and gentleman.<\/p>\n

Before dawn, they march in formation to Saint Patrick\u2019s Cathedral, filling the streets of New York with echoing cadence calls. They attend a mass at the church to remember the regiment\u2019s fallen and to honor its heritage.<\/p>\n

Then, it\u2019s off to the start of the parade.<\/p>\n

Pfc. Danyel Rodriguez, a computer and detection systems repairer assigned to the 69th\u2019s logistics unit, Hotel Company, 427th Brigade Support Battalion, recently arrived back from boot camp. He\u2019s the kind of Soldier Walsh will miss.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez was warned by his fellow Soldiers to prepare for a long day and a long march in dress uniform.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in the moment, singing, just walking with everyone \u2026it didn\u2019t feel long at all,\u201d said Rodriguez. \u201cBeing around so many people, just singing along with everyone, it felt really nice. You just lose track of time, having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez, one of the battalion\u2019s most junior Soldiers, was not this year\u2019s only first-timer.<\/p>\n

Lt. Col. Adam Bojarski, the battalion\u2019s senior leader, took command of the 69th in October. This year was his first time leading the parade and marching with the unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a unique opportunity that nobody else in the Army gets to do,\u201d Bojarski said.<\/p>\n

The opportunity comes from a tradition dating back almost to the start of the 69th.<\/p>\n

The regiment was formed in 1849 as a New York State militia of Irish immigrants. Two years later, amid anti-Irish Catholic sentiment, they were asked to lead the parade and fend off any attackers.<\/p>\n

Today, key partners, including the New York Police Department, ensure the safety of the parade and the public. A squad of 69th Soldiers still makes a traditional \u201cshow of force\u201d by marching in \u201cbattle rattle\u201d \u2014 combat uniforms, body armor and helmets, with rifles and machine guns.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditions like these are fading out of our society,\u201d Bojarski said. \u201cIt\u2019s so important that units like the 69th continue to be the face of the Army National Guard and the National Guard as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bojarski said the battalion will continue leading the parade for years to come. And while they\u2019ll do it without Walsh, he\u2019s hopeful those who march in his place gain from the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope they take away pride and this amazing feeling you get as you\u2019re marching in the parade and listening to thousands of people cheer you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all joined the military for a reason. A lot of times when you\u2019re marching in the parade, that reason \u2014 whatever it may be \u2014 comes to your heart and to your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soldiers with the New York National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 42nd Infantry Division, lead the annual New York City Saint Patrick\u2019s Day Parade March 16, 2024. The \u201cFighting 69th\u201d Infantry has led the world\u2019s largest Saint Patrick\u2019s Day Parade since 1851. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Warren […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138172,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138170"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138173,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138170\/revisions\/138173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/138172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}