New York City's historic "Fighting 69th" Infantry gets a new commander on October 24

1st Battalion, 69th Infantry-- subject of song and movie-- traces its history back to Civil War Irish Brigade

LATHAM, N.Y. (10/19/2021) — A Clifton Park resident who is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will take charge of New York City's famous "Fighting 69th" Infantry on October 24, 2021.

Lt. Col. Shawn Tabankin will take over the 800-Soldier 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry from Lt. Col. Joseph Whaley, who has led the unit since 2019.

The 69th is headquartered in the historic Lexington Avenue Armory on Manhattan and has elements in the Hudson Valley and on Long island.

The battalion is the subject of the Irish folk song "The Fighting 69th" and a 1940 movie about World War I by the same name.

Whaley is moving into a new assignment as the deputy operations officer of the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters which is based in Troy.

Tabankin first enlisted in the United States Army in 1997 and served in the 82nd Airborne Division before receiving his commission as an infantry officer in 2002 through the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps, joining the New York Army National Guard in order to attend New York Law School.

In 2003, Tabankin took a voluntary leave of absence from law school in order to deploy to Iraq as a platoon leader with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry. Tabankin conducted combat operations for 11 months, including participation in the October 2004 Battle of Samarra - a four-day house-to-house fight to clear the city of insurgent forces.

Returning to New York, Tabankin completed law school, began practice as an attorney, and continued his service as a National Guard officer with assignments as the executive officer for Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, Command of Charlie Company, 1-69th Infantry Regiment, followed by a second command in 2012 with Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry to deploy to Western Afghanistan.

Tabankin became a full time active duty member of the New York Army National Guard upon return in 2012, where he served as Force Integration Officer and then, in 2015, the battalion operations officer for the 2-108th Infantry.

In 2017, Tabankin transferred to the 42nd Infantry Division where he deployed to Kuwait as the Chief of Plans for Task Force Spartan.

Upon return, Tabankin was assigned to the state headquarters as the deputy operations officer for Domestic Operations.

Tabankin is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Maneuver Captain's Career Course, Intermediate Level Education, and the Advanced Operations Course. Tabankin has been accepted into the U.S. Army War College for the 2022-2023 Academic Year.

His awards include the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Iraq Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star, Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Award with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Parachutist Badge, and Air Assault Badge.

Tabankin was born in Bronx, N.Y. and now resides in Clifton Park, N.Y. with his wife Jenn and their children, Addyson and Ephren

His future command, the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, has a distinguished history that includes service in the Civil War, World War I, World War II and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reportedly, the regiment was given the name "that fighting 69th Regiment" by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1863.

In World War I the unit's commander, William "Wil Bill" Donovan became famous and earned the Medal of Honor.

In World War II the Soldiers of the 69th invaded Makin Atoll in 1943 and fought on the Islands of Saipan and Okinawa in the campaign in the Pacific against Japan.

In 2004-05 the battalion was mobilized and then deployed to Baghdad, Iraq where it was given the mission of security Route Irish, the road from the Baghdad Airport to the center of the city. At one time this was considered the most dangerous road in Iraq.

Members of the 69th also deployed to Afghanistan in 2008.

Closer to home, members of the battalion were part of the response to Superstorm Sandy and have participated in numerous state weather emergencies as well as the state's COVID-19 response since March of 2020.

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