- Posthumous Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Murphy.
With a fair weather forecast for Saturday's New York St. Patrick's Day Parade, all things look set for sunshine reflecting on a lot of brass. This because the parade is adopting a special military air this year as it celebrates the service and sacrifice of all American veterans.
And receiving special recognition, according to the parade committee, will be Long Island native and U.S. Navy SEAL, Lt. Michael Murphy, posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic and selfless actions in the conflict in Afghanistan.
Later this year, a new U.S. Navy destroyer named after Lt. Murphy will be formally commissioned at a ceremony in New York Harbor.
As always, the parade will be led by the members of the famed fighting 69th Regiment of the New York State National Guard while this year's grand marshal is NBC executive Francis X. Comerford.
This year's leading Irish county in the line of march (see line beginning on Page 33) is Cavan and the parade will also be a standout in that it will be reviewed by Archbishop Timothy Dolan for the first time as a cardinal. Cardinal Dolan will be the main celebrant in the traditional pre-parade Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 8.30 a.m.
The parade starts at 44th Street at 11 a.m. and, according to the committee, will proceed up Fifth Avenue, past St. Patrick's Cathedral at 50th Street, and on to 79th Street, where it will conclude at approximately 4.30 to 5 p.m. The parade will also be televised for four hours on New York's WNBC Channel 4.
