U.S. soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen march from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde in Paris, July 12, 2017, during a rehearsal for the Bastille Day military parade. The United States led the parade to commemorate the centennial of U.S. entry into World War I and the longstanding partnership between the United States and France. For the 173rd year in a row, Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, “Fighting 69th” Infantry Regiment, marched at the head of New York City’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade — the largest in the world.
The parade day begins with a 6 a.m. toast of Irish whiskey at the historic Lexington Avenue Armory. Soldiers add sprigs of boxwood to their uniforms, emulating their Irish American predecessors who fought at the Civil War battle of Fredericksburg. The unit’s officers receive blackthorn fighting sticks, imported from Ireland and considered the mark of an Irish leader and gentleman. Before dawn, they march in formation to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, filling the streets of New York with echoing cadence calls. They attend a mass at the church to remember the regiment’s fallen and to honor its heritage.
