Irish eyes will be smiling Tuesday, as New York City kicks off its 265th annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. Leading the dozens of floats, bands and community organizations marching along Fifth Avenue will be the New York Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment known as “The Fighting 69th.
“New York City’s Fighting 69th’ is always honored to lead the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Prior, the battalion’s commander, in a statement on the parade obtained by Military.com. “This year carries special meaning as our battalion marks its 175th time leading the parade.”
The parade is the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world, according to organizers. The first New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in 1762 — 14 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Since 1851, “The Fighting 69th” has been the lead unit in the parade, in a show of solidarity after anti-Catholic and anti-Irish threats were made against the procession. The regiment was organized in 1849 as a New York State militia regiment made up of Irish immigrants.
“In addition, our nation is approaching its 250th anniversary, and our city will remember the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, which makes this parade especially significant,” Prior noted in his statement.
Some 800 Soldiers of the 69th Infantry Regiment will march in the parade when it kicks off at 11 am EST. During the parade, the battalion’s soldiers will be joined by the 42nd Infantry Division Band and senior leaders of the New York National Guard.
Lt. Col. Prior will be front and center in his first Saint Patrick’s Day Parade as commander of the 69h.
“I spent most of my career in these ranks,” Prior said in remarks he made at his promotion ceremony last November, and obtained by Military.com. “I trained with you, deployed with you, and learned from the leaders and soldiers who shaped this organization; so now to have the privilege to command the Fighting 69th is the greatest honor of my career.”
TRADITIONAL CUSTOMS ON DISPLAY
Traditions of the 6/9th Infantry and the St. Patrick’s Day parade will be on display for an estimated one to two million spectators in the crowd.
In one custom, soldiers place a sprig of boxwood on their uniforms in homage to members of the Irish brigade who put a boxwood sprig in their hat bands at the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862, to mark their Irish heritage.
Officers of the 69th will also carry a fighting stick made of blackthorn wood imported from Ireland because it is considered the mark of an Irish leader and gentleman.
Soldiers are accompanied on the parade route by two Irish Wolfhounds, the official mascot of the 69th Infantry. The dogs represent the regimental motto, “Gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked.”
As battalion commander, Lt. Col. Prior will carry the “Kilmer Crucifix,” a religious icon once worn by poet Joyce Kilmer, who was killed in action serving in the 69th during World War I.
Finally, just before the parade starts, the head of the parade committee asks the commander if the 69th is ready. The response is: “The 69th is always ready!”
PARADE RECOGNIZES IRISH CONTRIBUTIONS
As parades go in New York City, the Saint Patrick’s Day parade is popular among crowds, tourists, dignitaries and politicians. New York governors, mayors and city councilmembers are staples. So are various school bands, churches and community groups.
But over the years, the parade has been challenged by circumstances beyond its control.
In 2021, the parade was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Undaunted, a group of about 50 soldiers from the 69th staged an informal parade along the route to keep the tradition alive.
The 69th Infantry apparently earned the nickname “Fighting 69th” from Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who is said to have referred to the Irish American unit as “that fighting 69th regiment” following the battle of Fredericksburg in 1862.
The unit’s soldiers have fought in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and has faced deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa since September 11, 2001.
Because of the regiment’s roots in Irish American history, St. Patrick’s Day is also the 1st Battalion, 69th’s “Unit Day,” where Soldiers are recognized for their accomplishments. This year, the battalion will hold its recognition ceremony at the Park Avenue Armory following the parade because its permanent home, New York’s historic Lexington Avenue Armory, is being renovated.
When the Soldiers return from the parade and begin their unit day ceremonies, they are cheered by the battalion’s officers, who render honors and pay tribute to the enlisted Soldiers and noncommissioned officers.
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