World War I Homefront Defenders Who Died on Duty to Be Honored

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The New York Guard Band at a previous 1st Provisional Regiment memorial service.

LATHAM, NY (04/29/2011)(readMedia)-- The sacrifice made by members of the New York Guard, a state defense force, who died during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic while guarding New York City's aqueduct system against sabotage will be commemorated Sunday, May 1, at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

WHO: Leaders of the 56th Brigade, New York Guard; local government officials; and the New York Guard Band.

WHAT: The Ninety-First Aqueduct Defense Memorial Service will be held to commemorate the service of 40 New York Guard servicemen who perished, many from the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918, while on state duty protecting the New York City water system from potential German saboteurs during the First World War.

Members of the media are invited to observe the annual wreath laying and memorial, where interview opportunities will be available with local dignitaries and current New York Guard members.

WHEN: 11 a.m., Sunday May 1, 2011

WHERE: Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

Coverage Opportunities:

The New York Guard Band is scheduled to perform during the ceremony. Members of the New York Guard and the Veterans Corps of Artillery (a historic military unit) will be present in uniform and available for interviews.

Media wishing to cover this event should contact New York Guard Public Affairs. Contact Warrant Officer Ubon Mendie, 347-420-7387 or ubon.mendie@newyorkguard.us

BACKGROUND:

The 1st Provisional Regiment New York Guard:

During World War I German agents appeared to have successfully destroyed a munitions plant on Black Tom Island in Jersey City, New Jersey, prior to American entry into the war in the spring of 1917. There was concern that the New York City water system of reservoirs and aqueducts could be sabotaged as well.

In February 1917 the New York National Guard's 27th Division was ordered to patrol the reservoir system, but in August 1917 the 27th Division was called into federal service and sent to France, so a new force, the New York Guard, was formed to take the place of the National Guard. Across the country, individual states created State Guards of older men, and those who could not meet military physical requirements to replace the National Guard for local response missions.

New York formed the 1st Provisional Regiment to guard the aqueduct system in 1917 and 1918. These citizen volunteers, ranging from their teens to their 60s were armed with obsolete weapons and clothed in old uniforms but they did their duty, walking patrol day-after-day and night-after-night. Average strength was about 1,600 volunteers. More than 8,000 New Yorkers served in this home guard during World War I.

When the so-called "Spanish Influenza" swept across the world in 1918 and 1919, 32 New York Guard volunteers of the 1st Provisional Regiment were struck down in the last three months of 1918.

The 1st Provisional Regiment Memorial:

To honor the New York Guard members who died on duty a boulder from Bonticon Crag in the Shawangunk Mountains, along the line of the aqueduct that the Guard members protected, was moved to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and turned into a memorial on property dedicated by William Rockefeller.

The New York Guard:

The New York Guard of today is an all-volunteer uniformed force whose members augment and assist the New York Army National Guard in training, response to state emergencies and in assisting National Guard units in mobilizing and deploying. Members of the New York Guard also serve on a special team trained to decontaminate victims of a chemical or biological weapons attack.

New York Guard members, who do not carry weapons, do all this in an unpaid status unless they are ordered into State Active Duty by the governor. Many New York Guard members have prior military service in the National Guard, but many others have no military service behind them. The New York Guard has an authorized strength of just over 1,000 volunteers.

The New York Guard of World War I was disbanded when the New York National Guard returned from federal service, but in 1940, as the National Guard was federalized again, Congress authorized the creation of State Guards. During World War II, about 22,000 New Yorkers volunteered for service.