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Tuesday March 13, 2012

New York's Parade To Honor U.S. Veterans

Receiving special recognition will be Long Island native Lt. Michael Murphy, USN, posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic and selfless actions in conflict in Afghanistan

The New York City St Patrick's Day Parade will honor all American veterans and salute one in particular when it marches up Fifth Avenue on Saturday.

This year, the Parade celebrates the service and sacrifice of all American veterans.

Receiving special recognition will be Long Island native Lt. Michael Murphy, USN, posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic and selfless actions in conflict in Afghanistan.

Each year, the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade recognizes the efforts of an outstanding charity or distinguished group of people who serve to make the world better.

This year, the parade committee - led by chairman John Dunleavy, a veteran of the US Army - has chosen to honor all American veterans from every branch of service and from every war or conflict.

The presence of veterans or members of the military in the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade dates to the beginning of the event.

The original parade 251 years ago included Irish soldiers conscripted into the British Army serving here in Manhattan.

Through the intervening years, the tradition of military presence in the parade continued, notably with the role of the 69th Regiment of the New York National Guard leading the parade followed by many military bands and delegations.

In a very recognizable way, the idea of honoring past and present members of the military is a celebration of the story of immigrants in the United States; the true spirit of America is embodied in their efforts to build roots and gain educations while embracing the faith that gave them hope and uniting to protect their chosen country.

Participating in the 2012 St. Patrick's Day Parade will be members of each branch of the military: the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marines, and the Coast Guard. Service of participating veterans spans the time from World War II through  Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, Kosovo, to the conflicts of the last decade in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With participation coordinated by the American Legion Post 50 and Sons of the American Legion, Squadron 50 of Pelham, NY, the veterans groups marching in this year's parade include the Catholic War Veterans; The American Legion; the Marine Corps League; the Veterans of Foreign Wars; The Vietnam Veterans of America; the Red Bank, NJ, Veterans from 1941-2012; the Mercy College Veterans Program from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.; the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; and the United War Veterans Council of New York City.    

The parade committee especially recognizes a genuine hero from Patchogue, Long Island: Lt. Michael Murphy, USN. 

A Navy SEAL, Lt. Murphy led a four-man team on a mission in the remote mountains of Afghanistan. 

The small unit of Lt. Murphy, Gunner's Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz, Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell was trapped by Taliban fighters on three sides and ran low on ammunition. The intense firefight inflicted grave gunshot wounds upon Lt. Murphy, yet he unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own life moved into the open, where he could gain a better position to transmit a call that relayed the position of the stranded unit to a relief force.

Severely wounded, Lt. Murphy returned to his cover position with his men and continued the battle until he was ultimately killed. 

But Lt. Murphy's heroism led to the rescue of Petty Officer Luttrell and the recovery of the remains of the three Americans who were lost in the battle. 

For his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit and inspirational devotion to his men in the face of certain death, Lt. Murphy was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor for military service. 

In May 2011, the Navy christened a new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, which will be commissioned in October. 

For decades to come, USS Michael P. Murphy will continue to protect America as an example of the service and heroism of its namesake.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of New York City's greatest traditions, marching for the first time on March 17, 1762 when it was formed by a band of homesick Irish ex-patriots and Irish military who served with the British Army stationed in the American colonies.

This was a time when the wearing of green was a sign of Irish pride and was banned in Ireland.

The parade participants reveled in the freedom to speak Irish, wear the green, sing Irish songs and play the bagpipes to Irish tunes that were very meaningful to the Irish immigrants who had fled their homeland.

For the first few years of its existence, the parade was organized by military units.

After the War of 1812, the Irish fraternal and beneficial societies took over the duties of hosting and sponsoring the event.

Originally, the Irish societies joined together at their respective meeting places and moved in a procession toward Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in Lower Manhattan on Mott and Prince Streets, where the Archbishop of New York would address the crowd before revelers dispersed to celebrate.

In the mid-1800s, the individual societies merged under a single grand marshal and the size of the parade grew sharply.

This was when the Ancient Order of Hibernians became the official sponsor of the parade.

While the parade has always been led by a military unit, for the past 150 years, members of the National Guard's 69th Regiment (known as the "Fighting 69th") has proudly led the way up Fifth Avenue.

This distinguished group of soldiers is followed by members of various Irish societies of the city, the 32 Irish County Societies, various schools, colleges, Emerald societies, Irish-language and nationalist societies.

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