69th Infantry Regiment (New York)

69th Infantry Regiment
69th Infantry Regiment coat of arms
Active	1849–present
Country	United States
Branch	New York Army National Guard
Type	Infantry
Role	Light infantry
Size	One battalion
Garrison/HQ	69th Regiment Armory New York City
Nickname(s)	Fighting Sixty-Ninth (special designation)[1]
Motto(s)	Gentle When Stroked; Fierce when Provoked Battle cries: "Faugh a Ballagh" ("Clear The Way!") (Civil War) "Garryowen in Glory!" (WW1)
Colors	Green
March	Garryowen
Mascot(s)	Irish Wolfhound
Anniversaries	17 March (St Patrick's Day)
Engagements	Iraqi Campaign Baghdad 2005 Radwiniyah 2004 Taji 2004 World War II Okinawa, Japan 1945 Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands 1944 Makin Island, Kiribati 1943 World War I Meuse-Argonne, France 1918 St. Mihiel, France 1918 Château-Thierry, France 1918 Champagne, France 1918 Rouge Bouquet Chausailles, France 1917 American Civil War Appomattox, VA 1865 Petersburg, VA 1864 Gettysburg, PA 1863 Chancellorsville, VA 1863 Fredericksburg, VA 1862 Antietam, MD 1862 Yorktown, VA 1862 Bull Run, VA 1861
Commanders
Current commander	LTC Adam Bojarski
Command Sergeant Major	CSM Jason Zeller
Notable commanders	Michael Corcoran Thomas Francis Meagher "Wild Bill" Donovan Martin H. Foery
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 69th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It is from New York City, part of the New York Army National Guard. It is known as the "Fighting Sixty-Ninth",^[1] a name said to have been given by Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. An Irish-American heritage is attributed to the regiment, which is also nicknamed the "Fighting Irish" – a tradition mentioned in Joyce Kilmer's poem "When the 69th Comes Back".^[2][3] Between 1917 and 1992 it was also designated the 165th Infantry Regiment. It is headquartered at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan.

The regiment currently consists of a single light infantry battalion (1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment) and is part of the 27th Infantry Brigade of the 42nd Infantry Division. The regiment has seen combat in four wars: the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Iraq War. It has also participated in 23 campaigns, so many that the staffs of its regimental colors are authorized to be one foot longer than normal to accommodate them all.^[4]