National Guard veterans of Iraq War gather in Saratoga Springs to mark 20 year anniversary of their deployment

Saratoga Springs, New York (09/17/2025) — One hundred New York Army National Guard Soldiers who deployed to Iraq with the 42nd Infantry Division in 2005 will be gather the weekend of Sept. 19-21 for a reunion at the Hilton Hotel in Saratoga Springs.

The gathering, organized by the Rainbow Division Veterans Foundation, will mark 20 years since the division served in the Iraq War.

In the spring of 2004 over 3,000 National Guard Soldiers assigned to the division headquarters, and other division units were mobilized for deployment to Iraq. The Soldiers were originally supposed to train at Fort Drum for six months and then deploy to Iraq in November.

The deployment was delayed until January of 2005.

In February 2005, the Troy-based division headquarters assumed command of 23,000 Soldiers units deployed in four Iraqi provinces north of Baghdad. Major General Joseph Taluto, the division commander, was responsible for the operations of two active Army brigades of the 3rd Infantry Division and two Army National Guard Brigades.

The 42nd Infantry Division was the first reserve component division to go into combat since the Korean War.

The divisions Soldiers returned home in November of 2005.

Since World War I the 42nd division has been nicknamed "the Rainbow Division."

The name was given the division by General Douglas MacArthur, then a colonel, who said that since the division was made up of National Guard units from many states it would stretch across the country "like a rainbow."

Those attending the reunion will gather for a cocktail reception on Friday night and attend a formal dinner on Saturday night. There will be tours of the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center in Saratoga Springs, and the Saratoga Battlefield, as well as a business meeting for the officers of the Rainbow Division Veterans Foundation.