After a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, the New York Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment once again led the world's largest St. Patrick's Day parade as it marched down midtown Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.
The city’s parade — the largest and oldest of them all, first held in 1762 — ran 35 blocks along Fifth Avenue, past St. Patrick’s Cathedral and along Central Park.
Thousands of people showed up for this year’s parade — organizers had expected a large crowd — lining the iconic parade route after two years of virtual celebrations forced by the pandemic.
James Callahan, president of the International Union of Operating Engineers, was named Grand Marshal, while "The Fighting 69th," which was organized in 1849 as an Irish-American militia unit and has led the parade annually since 1851, will do so again.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, did try to keep the magic going the last two years. Some joined members of the parade committee in marching up Fifth Avenue in the early morning hours of March 17, 2020, just as the city was truly beginning to grasp the breadth of the COVID pandemic, with shutdowns, school closures and more.
Watch the full parade here.
More St. Patrick's Day Coverage
The city’s famed Fifth Avenue was awash with green, as hordes of revelers took to sidewalks amid damp skies to take part in the tradition for the first time in two years.
Kathy Brucia, 65, has been attending the parade for more than three decades, she said -- except the past two years.
“The pandemic,” she said. “I don’t think it’s over. But I think a lot of people feel like, wow, we could finally go to a parade and not worry. But I think everybody has to worry,” she said as the first marching band passed by Thursday morning.
“I love St. Patrick’s Day. It’s one of my favorite, favorite holidays,” said Brucia, who is Irish and was clad in green, including a shamrock on her cheek.
Last year, 50 face-masked soldiers conducted an abbreviated parade once again to maintain the traditions of the St. Patrick's Day Parade. This year will mercifully be different -- and mark a particularly significant parade for the battalion leading the march, 69th commander Lt. Col. Shawn Tabankin said.
The battalion's Soldiers have been deeply involved in the two-year New York National Guard response to the COVID-19 pandemic and they are now focused on preparing for a deployment to the Horn of Africa for a security mission, Tabankin said.
"It represents a return to normalcy following the COVID-19 pandemic," Tabankin added. "Many of the soldiers marching have been on the front lines of the COVID response mission and this parade will mark the point where we transition from our state mission back to our federal one as we prepare to deploy."
During an event held at the Lexington Avenue home of the New York Army National Guard's 69th Infantry Regiment, parade organizers said that 2022 will be the biggest parade that has ever been held.
The 2021 parade was supposed to be a salute to those who died when the World Trade Center Towers were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as first responders and essential workers. This year's parade celebrations will include that salute following a special mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The day held great importance for a city still reeling from the outbreak.
“Psychologically, it means a lot,” said Sean Lane, the chair of the parade’s organizing group. “New York really needs this.”
The city’s entertainment and nightlife scenes have particularly welcomed the return to a normal St. Patrick’s Day party.
“This is the best thing that happened to us in two years,” said Mike Carty, the Ireland-born owner of Rosie O’Grady’s, a restaurant and pub in the Theater District.
“We need the business, and this really kicked it off,” said Carty, who will be hosting the parade’s grand marshal after the procession.
New York Army National Guard Soldiers played taps along with members of the New York Police Department and Fire Department New York in a salute to the 2,763 people who died at the World Trade Center.
The parade also commemorated the Irish American labor movement and the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Irish government.
The 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, supposedly earned the nickname "Fighting 69th" from the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. He is said to have referred to the Irish-American unit as "that fighting 69th regiment" following the battle of Fredericksburg in 1863.
The unit's Soldiers have distinguished themselves in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 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," during which the battalion's soldiers are recognized for their accomplishments.
The 1st Battalion 69th Infantry is the subject of the Irish folk song "The Fighting 69th," and the 1940 movie of the same name starring Pat O'Brien and Jimmy Cagney.
A host of traditions surround the 69th and the St. Patrick's Day Parade. These include:
- Soldiers place a sprig of boxwood on their uniform because members of the Irish brigade put boxwood springs in their hatbands at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, to mark their Irish heritage;
- Officers of the 69th carry a fighting stick made of blackthorn wood imported from Ireland because they are considered the mark of an Irish leader and gentleman;
- Soldiers are accompanied on their parade march by two Irish Wolfhounds, the official mascot of the 69th Infantry. The dogs are representative of the regimental motto, "gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked;"
- The battalion commander carries the "Kilmer Crucifix," the religious icon once worn by poet Joyce Kilmer --the author of the poem "Trees"-- who was killed in action serving in the 69th in World War I;
- The regiment's officers start the day with a toast of Irish whiskey;
- The regiment attends a special Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral to honor the regiments fallen and honor its Irish heritage prior to the parade;
- NYC provides a dedicated subway train to transport the soldiers back down to the East Village for their unit day activities;
- 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 Non-Commissioned Officers.
"For us, it is a day where nearly every action taken is a nod to some portion of our long and storied history," Tabankin said.
