Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Christmas Eve road march honors troops By Col. Richard Goldenberg
                New York National Guard
 GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - Nearly 1,000 New York Army National Guard Soldiers, family members, friends and members of the Glens Falls community turned out Christmas Eve for the 9th annual road march to support the troops. The march, coordinated by retired Sgt. 1st Class Art Coon and his wife Julie, is sponsored in part by the Capital District of New York Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army, and has ties to Soldiers serving around the world. It was first conducted in 2003 when Soldiers of the locally based New York Army National Guard's Company C, 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry, were deployed in Iraq over Christmas. Other Soldiers assigned to their home armory in Glens Falls, from the 466th Area Medical Company, got together to conduct a road march in their honor. For that first march, Coon had only a couple dozen Soldiers or family members to participate. They shared images with the troops in Iraq as a reminder that families and fellow Soldiers would remember the troops' sacrifice at Christmas time. "The heart of the road march is that we are here to show Soldiers who are not home at Christmas, that even though we could be home right now, we are here to show we remember them," Coon said in his remarks to the attendees before the road march began. "I always call it shared suffering, so today we suffer just a little bit for those who cannot be here." "We remember them at a time when we could be comfortable in our homes, wrapping presents," Coon said. "We take a little bit of our time to suffer along with them and sacrifice." For 2012, marchers who registered in advance received a lanyard where they could write the names of those troops overseas they're honoring, or remembering veterans. Others were provided lanyards bearing the names of area Soldiers serving in Afghanistan, or veterans of the area. "We are using lanyards for this march to show everyone who you are marching for," Coon said. "We get to see all the stories, from a lanyard for a Civil War Soldier, to Soldiers killed in Vietnam and Iraq, to Soldiers currently deployed to Afghanistan," Coon said. Coon's lanyard was especially personal. As a former recruiter for the region, his lanyard carried the names of Soldiers killed overseas; Soldiers that he recruited into the National Guard and helped mentor their military careers. Julie Coon, a long-time supporter of the National Guard's Family Readiness Program in the area, stressed the importance of families and friends participating. "When I have a phone call from a mom who says, 'this is my daughter's first year in Afghanistan and I don't know what to do. I want to come.' That's all it is. Everybody's here for the same reason," she said. The march, in its nine years, has created its own momentum, exporting the road-march tradition to areas where troops are serving. Chief Warrant Officer Ryan Comstock, serving in Afghanistan with a UH-60 Black Hawk battalion, had marched for years in support of fellow Soldiers, including his older brother Ken, who served and was wounded in Iraq in 2004. Comstock, a helicopter pilot, who serves with an Idaho National Guard aviation unit in Afghanistan, organized a companion march for about 45 fellow Soldiers. Those troops set off at 5 a.m. on Christmas Eve while deployed, in order to send digital photos back to New York in time to motivate the crowd of more than 925 participants in Glens Falls. Last year, other regional New York Army National Guard members modeled their march while deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The goal for both Art and Julie Coon for the 10th anniversary road march in 2013 will be 1,000 participants. "Wouldn't that be great?" Art Coon said.
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 North Carolina Guard Welcomes New Zambian State Partnership
 By Lt. Col. Ellis Parks,
  Vermont Army Guard Soldiers Attend Brazilian Mountain School
 By Sgt. Denis Nunez,
  Idaho Air Guard Conducts Panther Shadow Exercise
 By Senior Master Sgt. Joshua Allmaras,
  More
 Idaho Air Guard Conducts Panther Shadow Exercise5/3/2024Massachusetts Guard Helps Host Crisis Leadership Seminar5/2/2024Massachusetts Air Guard Airmen Test New Air Combat Tactics5/2/2024 View more Guard News »
 Vermont Army Guard Soldiers Attend Brazilian Mountain School5/3/2024
New York Army Guard Soldiers Heading to North Africa4/30/2024
Pennsylvania National Guard Members Deploy to Africa4/19/2024 View more Overseas Operations News »
 North Carolina Guard Welcomes New Zambian State Partnership5/3/2024

Guard Leaders Stress NCOs Role in State Partnership Program5/3/2024

Enduring Partners 2024 Begins with Thai-US Airmen Exchange5/2/2024 View more State Partnership Program News »
 Back-to-school tools for military families8/11/2015DoD sends blended military retirement proposal to Congress6/16/2015First employment symposium held for National Guard spouses5/11/2015 View more Family Programs News »
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil