42nd Infantry Division fallen honored in wreath laying ceremony at noon on Saturday, May 23 in Garden City

Wreath laying at the Rainbow Division Memorial by the 42nd Infantry Division Veterans Foundation honors dead of World War's I and II and the Global War On Terror

Garden City, New York (05/20/2026) — A Memorial Day weekend wreath laying at the Rainbow Division Memorial in Garden City on Saturday, May 23, 2026, will commemorate the role of the 42nd Infantry Division in World Wars I and II and the Global War on Terrorism.

Members of the press are invited to cover the noon event.

WHO: Members of the 42nd Infantry Division Veterans Association.

WHAT: A ceremonial wreath laying and short remarks commemorating the 42nd Infantry Division's war dead. The Rainbow Division Memorial, erected in 1941, commemorated the division's role in World War I. The memorial is located outside what was once the gate of Camp Mills where the division assembled in 1917.

WHEN: noon, Saturday May 23, 2026

WHERE: The intersection of Clinton Street and Commercial Boulevard, Garden City, New York.

Contact Mark Getman at 516-644-9743 for more information.

Coverage Opportunities:

Still and video imagery of the wreath laying and interviews with members of the 42nd Infantry Division Veteran's Association.

BACKGROUND:

The 42nd Infantry Division, which has been part of the New York Army National Guard since 1947, was originally organized in 1917 out of National Guard units from 26 different states. The goal was to create a division which could deploy rapidly to France in the fall of 1917 to fight in World War I. Other National Guard divisions were comprised of units from one or two states. The New York National Guard's 27th Division is an example of a division from one state.

The 42nd Division was the brainchild of then Col. Douglas MacArthur, who said that the division would reach across the United States "like a rainbow." The division has been nicknamed "The Rainbow Division" ever since. The division's patch is half a rainbow to reflect those casualties.

The division was one of the most famous units in World War I and went into action in February 1918. By the time the War ended in November 1918 a total of 2,810 division Soldiers had died.

In World War II the division was reactivated. The division landed in southern France in December 1944 and fought across southern Germany taking Nuremburg, and Munich and liberating the Dachau concentration camp. During World War II 553 division Soldiers were killed.

In 1947 the 42nd Infantry Division was assigned to the New York National Guard. In 2004 the division headquarters and division support units were mobilized and then deployed to Iraq in 2005. This was the first time a National Guard division headquarters had gone to war since the Korean War.

The division's other elements - infantry battalions and aviation units-were also mobilized for the war in Iraq and additional division units served in Afghanistan as well. A total of 24 Rainbow Division Soldiers died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

THE MEMORIAL

Located on a quarter-acre triangular plot, this monument is a 15-by-5-foot obelisk of Alabama limestone. Inscribed on it are a lone bugler standing in a military cemetery, a list of the units that made up the Rainbow Division, the states they came from, and the names of the World War I campaigns in which they fought. The monument was originally dedicated in 1941 and has been rededicated several times, including a restoration for the 2017 commemoration of the division's centennial.

THE RANBOW DIVISION VETERANS' FOUNDATION

The memorial wreath is provided by the Rainbow Division Veterans Foundation Memorials Committee, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to commemorating the deeds, sacrifices and traditions of the 42nd Infantry Division through memorials, education and the preservation of the division's history. The RDVF pays for the wreath; all other support for the ceremony is provided by the 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division Association. The foundation oversees dozens of memorial sites in the U.S. and Europe where 42nd Division Soldiers served.

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