30 Mass. National Guard troops with historic ties to Revolution marching in DC Army parade
WASHINGTON — Thirty National Guard soldiers from Massachusetts are in Washington this week, marching in Saturday's controversial — and costly — Army parade.
They are members of the 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment, headquartered at the Melrose Armory. They are part of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 42nd Infantry Division, headquartered in Syracuse, N.Y.
'As one of the four oldest units in the U.S. military, soldiers from the 1-182 Infantry were among the Massachusetts militia who first formed the ranks of the Continental Army on Cambridge Common in 1775,' said Lt. Col. Landon Mavrelis, commander, 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment, in a statement.
The 42nd 'Rainbow' Division is one of the eight Army National Guard divisions in the parade, said Eric Durr, spokesman for the New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs. Eleven of the Army's 19 divisions are participating.
The 42nd was created during World War I by taking National Guard units from 26 states and creating a special division that could go quickly to France in the fall of 1917. The division was organized in Garden City, Long Island, and was nicknamed 'The Rainbow Division.'
The division's first chief of staff, Douglas MacArthur — who later commanded American forces in World War II — said the division would 'stretch across the country like a rainbow.'
'The legacy forged by Rainbow Division soldiers on battlefields across France marked the 42d ID as one of the premier divisions of the American Expeditionary Force. We are honored to represent our predecessors, and all brave Americans who fought in that conflict 100 years ago,' said Major Gen. Jack James, the commander of the 42nd Infantry Division.
James will lead the contingent along with a color guard.
Another 30 soldiers from the 42nd Infantry Division Band, headquartered at the Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill, New York, also will march.
The parade officially commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Army's founding in 1775. But the date Saturday also coincides with President Donald Trump's birthday, raising questions about the appropriateness of soldiers participating in what could be a political event.
The parade is expected to cost $45 million.
The Massachusetts soldiers left for Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and will return Sunday, according to the New York Guard.
According to a statement from New York State, soldiers will be housed in an empty Department of Agriculture office building and an unused General Services Administration warehouse, just as they were for the inauguration.
The soldiers will receive meals ready-to-eat, or MREs, for breakfast and lunch, and a hot meal for dinner along with per-diem of about $69. The cost is being picked up by the Army.
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