New York National Guard soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry depart St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the start of the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade here on March 16, 2013. The 69th Infantry has led the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade since for the past 162 years, including the years of the regiment’s wartime service in WWI, WWII and Iraq. The troops wear a sprig of boxwood as a reminder of the regiment's charge against Confederate lines at the Battle of Fredericksburg during the Civil War. Gen. Frank Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, joined the parade as a guest of the regiment in 2013. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Col. Richard Goldenberg, New York Army National Guard.